SACRAMENTO – During the seven years he has owned Sir Charles Liquor, Mitri Manneh has developed an extremely loyal following by keeping his customers happy. Manneh keeps his Lottery playcenter clean and well stocked, and he conducts regular promotions in his store, offering free tickets and other promotional items to California Lottery players. His efforts have made Sir Charles Liquor the California Lottery’s statewide “Retailer of the Month” for January 2009.
“Mitri Manneh’s enthusiasm and originality in promoting Lottery products is commendable,” said California Lottery Director Joan Borucki. “His dedication to customers, involvement with the community and focus on promoting the Lottery with a positive attitude makes for a successful sales formula.”
Manneh is a member of the Lottery’s District Retailer Advisory Board. For the past two years, he has also served as the retailer for the Orange County Fair, working every hour of every day for the entire three-week fair. Under his direction, sales have increased by 40%, and he is well-regarded by other vendors and fair staff.
In addition to his successful business ventures, Manneh is also very active in his community, supporting local Little League, soccer and basketball teams as well as the Costa Mesa Police Department’s programs against drunk driving.
Since becoming a Lottery retailer in 2001, Sir Charles Liquor has averaged weekly Lottery sales of more than $32,000. They have sold more than $2 million in Lottery products, contributing nearly $700,000 to California public schools as a result.
Each month since 1986, the California Lottery has presented a statewide "Retailer of the Month" award to one of more than 20,000 Lottery retailers in the state. Enthusiasm, creative merchandising, pride of ownership and, most of all, a connection to the community are the defining criteria for each “Retailer of the Month.” At the end of the year, one "Retailer of the Month" is honored as the statewide California Lottery "Retailer of the Year.” A “Retailer of the Year” receives $5,000 and a specialized gold leaf California Lottery terminal in recognition of the retailer’s success.
More than 95 cents of every Lottery dollar is returned to the community in the form of contributions to education, prizes and retail commissions. The California Lottery contributes at least 34 cents of every dollar that players spend on Lottery products to public education and returns more than 50 percent of sales to players in the form of prizes. Since its inception in 1985, the Lottery has contributed more than $20 billion to California schools out of total sales of nearly $55 billion. Retailers benefit too, earning $3.5 billion in compensation since 1985.