One of Bangkok’s biggest booze delivery services near the end of its first decade is retooling its retail presence due to pandemic pain and a marketplace that still favors monopolists.
What grew from a delivery service for hard-to-find beers to fine spots for chilling out with quality drinks of all types, Wishbeer will move its one store across Sukhumvit Road into a smaller space next month to cut costs while seeking to draw more franchisees after sales collapsed upward of 70% last year.
“We sold over 100,000 pints of draught beer in 2019, but only 30,000 in 2020,” founder Jerome Le Louer said.

Jerome Le LouerBut while the shutdowns have certainly put the hurt on bars, Le Louer said that’s only part of the equation, as growth continues to be hampered by rules favoring only the largest corporations.
“Small distributors and retailers like us have a hard time getting their names out there because of the limited sales and advertising channels,” he said. “It’s not just affecting us, but it’s the whole industry of small producers, importers, distributors, retailers, and ultimately affects the consumer’s choices and prices. It’s really bad for everyone.”
While Wishbeer’s Bangkok brick-and-mortar footprint may be shrinking – the new digs are planned at Summer Point next to BTS Phra Khanong – it has added a franchising model.

In the last week of 2020, it landed a map in Udon Thani city with a “bottle shop” where customers can browse for their favorite beverage. A week later, another operator opened Wishbeer Chiang Mai, a bottle shop with six taps in its trend-forward Nimmanhaemin ‘hood.
That comes after the craft beer specialist and liquor store lost its branches on Thonglor and at The Street Ratchada.
The second-wave lockdown hit Bangkok’s bars again mid-December after hundreds of COVID-19 cases appeared, though last year’s broader blanket ban on all sale has not been imposed.
A Wishbeer branch in Udon Thani. Photo: Wishbeer / CourtesyNot only has business been damaged by the pandemic, but also a mix of rules old and new. There was another crackdown on the ban on displaying alcohol brands or trademarks that might “induce” people to drink (also known advertising), while a vague new law last month made direct sales “through electronic devices” illegal. Its impact is still far from clear.
Le Louer is not alone in seeing a clear benefit for the few companies with near-monopolies, as the laws mostly serve to shackle smaller players from competing.
There are those calling for relief.
Thanakorn Kuptaijit of the Alcohol Beverage Business Association estimates that the pandemic measures will end up causing THB9 billion (USD$300 million) in losses to the industry and affect the livelihoods of a million people. He wants the government to lift the ban or at least extend stipends to keep them on their feet.
On Friday, the Craft Beer Association petitioned the Government House for relief for alcohol importers and distributors. The group, headed by Archirawas Wannasrisawat, also asked the authorities to reconsider booze controls causing “irreparable” damage to the industry.
“We aren’t asking much, just a way for our businesses to survive,” Archirawas said.
While Le Louer said he understands some measures are needed to curb the spread of the virus, he can’t make sense of those on the books.
“I don’t understand why we can’t consume alcohol while restaurants and bars remain open,” Le Louer said. “It’s just a disguised way to close bars without saying so, and unfortunately, it impacts so many people, who can’t make a living at the moment.”
A Wishbeer branch in Chiang Mai. Photo: Wishbeer / Courtesy
To punch above its weight, scaled-down Wishbeer takes franchise gamble | Coconuts Bangkok