Dear Client:We met with Partida Tequila founder Gary Shansby in our hometown of San Antonio yesterday for a brief chat (and a few samples). As you may know Gary has been in the business of building brands for about 50 years, with some of his better known brands including: Famous Amos Cookies, Mauna Loa Macadamias … Continue reading “A Chat with Partida Tequila”

Dear Client:Spirits overall had a less than stellar Fourth of July, according to food and drug store scanner data from IRI. Volume sales declined -1.7% in the two weeks to July 5 compared to the prior year, down almost 18,000 cases. Prepared cocktails by far took the biggest hit around the holiday, losing a little … Continue reading “Spirits Have a Tough Independence Day”

Dear Client:Although the Fourth of July is generally considered an occasion for beer, people frequent wine as well. This year boxed wine was popular and so was super-premium table wines (go figure). But overall the Table Wine Category was flat in the two weeks to July 5 relative to last year, according to IRI scan … Continue reading “Boxed Wine Wins Fourth of July”

The summer long saga concerning New Vine Logistics came to a close today when it was announced that lead creditor Inertia Beverage Group purchased its assets for $4.5 million. In a statement, Inertia said combining the two companies “will result in the first fully-integrated and dynamic direct sales company in the wine industry, offering e-commerce, … Continue reading “Inertia Buys New Vine for $4.5M”

Dear Client:Comparable net sales were flat for spirits in the three months ended June 30, while industry volumes were up modestly in the U.S. Revenues were stronger in the quarter for Fortune’s spirits unit, Beam Global, amid recent price increases. Fortune’s chief Bruce Carbonari said that although consumers are still going out less, the trading … Continue reading “Jim Beam Revenues Benefit from Price Increases”

Dear Client:As we announced just a little over an hour ago, Constellation has begun the first phase of its distributor consolidation by naming exclusive agreements with four wholesalers in 19 markets (18 states). This constitutes over half of Constellation’s U.S. business. Clearly this is a huge step for the company, so we chatted with spokeswoman … Continue reading “More on Constellation’s Big Announcement”

Dear Client:Today WSD spoke with Inertia Beverage Company’s ceo Ted Jansen regarding the much talked about situation with New Vine Logistics. Speculations and tempers have soared over recent days within the industry and everyone deserves a chance to tell their side of the story. We didn’t speak with the company or their reps before publishing … Continue reading “A Talk with Inertia’s Ted Jansen”

Dear Client:The auction for New Vine Logistics (NVL) was supposed to kick-off today, but the drama continues after lead creditor Inertia Beverage Group (IBG) announced it is extending the auction deadline by two weeks. The auction will now take place Monday, July 27th at 10 a.m. The question remains, is anyone besides IBG still interested … Continue reading “New Vine Deal Increasingly Fuzzy”

Dear Client:Constellation Brands chief Rob Sands sat down with anchor Marty Cej of Canada’s Business News Network (BNN), during which he explained the company’s current strategy and what they expect in the future.ROB ON CUTTING 150 BRANDS. When asked about Constellation’s motive behind shedding a total of 150 brands over the past couple of years, … Continue reading “Svedka Prompting “Hyper Growth” for STZ”

Dear Client:Beam Global has signed with Publicis’ Fallon Worldwide to represent its Cruzan Rum brand, reports Advertising Age. Beam and Fallon have a history dating back to 1989 when Fallon was its primary agency for ten years. In 1998 the companies split due to “strategic differences that are irreconcilable,” said Fallon Chairman Pat Fallon, according … Continue reading “Cruzan Signs New Agency, Higher Priced Rums Take a Hit”

Dear Client:We got a lot of great responses to yesterday’s article on Yellow Tail and Fred Franzia’s new “Down Under” or “three dolla koala.” It’s a rather heated topic and there are two very different sides to the story, and yes, some in-between. Here is a sample of what some of our readers had to … Continue reading “Readers Respond to Yellow Tail Query”

Dear Client:Vodka and tequila were the two spirits categories that showed the most momentum in the four weeks to May 30, based on Nielsen scan data from food, drug and major market liquor stores. Vodka continued to push the most dollar sales and cases, and still managed to grow 5.1% in sales and volume, respectively. … Continue reading “Vodka Gains Share in May”

Dear Client:The memo from New Vine Logistics (NVL) released yesterday was rather vague as you’ll recall, particularly regarding the auction of NVL’s assets. Since then WSD has done some digging and we’ve come up with further details. As you know, Inertia Beverage Group (IBG) is holding a public auction to foreclose their newly acquired interest … Continue reading “Details of NVL Auction “Under Wraps,” Say Sources”

Dear Client:Bacardi Limited has named Jacques Croisetière, 55, as cfo and senior vp to succeed Ralph Morera, 64, who is retiring. Jacques will join the company August 3 and will be based at the company’s global headquarters in Hamilton, Bermuda, subject to approval by the Bermuda Department of Immigration. Jacques was most recently at Rohm … Continue reading “Bacardi Limited Names New CFO”

Dear Client:New data from Information Resources (IRI) reveals that wines are picking up momentum in convenience stores versus the more traditional grocery and drugstore channel.DOMESTICS TAKE THE LEAD. Domestic wines in particular showed impressive growth, up 6.5% in dollar sales and 6.4% in volume, in the four weeks to June 14. In fact, domestic wines … Continue reading “Wine Building Larger Presence in C-Stores”