Contents
Largest Distributors Strengthen Hold on Market
The biggest story in the world of wine wholesaling this past year was the megadeal that didn’t happen. Republic National Distributing Co. (RNDC) and Breakthru had announced plans to merge and form what would have been a national giant with the reach and portfolio depth to compete directly with Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, but […]
Big Distributors Are Harnessing Big Data
It’s an oft-repeated fact as wineries consider their marketing options: Consolidation among distributors over the past 25 years has reversed the balance of power in the market and left small to midsize wineries with limited options. The country’s biggest distributors have greater reach and handle more products, with limited capacity for niche offerings. Southern Glazer’s […]
Another Good Vintage, but No Buyers
As harvest picked up in earnest throughout California in early September, ideal weather appeared to have delivered another ample crop of high-quality grapes in most appellations. Unfortunately, many growers in the state are feeling frustrated, if not desperate, at lackluster demand for those grapes. Following the bumper crop of 2018 — in which both Napa […]
Wine Industry Metrics: Sales Flat as Hiring Up for Crush
U.S. wine sales increased more than 3% to nearly $50 billion in the 12 months ending in August, according to market research firm bw166. Nielsen off-premise data indicated a flattening in domestic wine sales, however, even with last year at $783 million in the four weeks ended Aug. 10. On-premise sales in the 52 weeks […]
Slow Sales Puts Focus on Gallo-Constellation
Sonoma, Calif. — U.S. wine sales continue to hold their own in an increasingly competitive marketplace, but Constellation’s pending sale of 30 brands to E. & J. Gallo Winery may hold clues to the future. Reviewing sales for the first six months of 2019 in a Sept. 12 webinar, Jon Moramarco, editor of the Gomberg-Fredrikson […]
RNDC Expands in ‘Tough’ Wine Business
As president and CEO of Republic National Distributing Co. (RNDC), Tom Cole has guided the business to be the nation’s second-largest distributor of wines and spirits. RNDC does extensive business in the Midwest, Southeast, Great Plains and Mountain states. He made headlines this summer when RNDC and West Coast distributor Young’s Market Co. announced a […]
Upcoming Events
Oct. 1: Wine Industry Technology Symposium The Wine Industry Technology Symposium (wiTs) takes place Oct. 1 at CIA at Copia in Napa, Calif., and is a conference for winery professionals who implement technology solutions or analyze sales data. This includes IT professionals, marketing managers and DtC managers, as well as general managers, financial managers and […]