Breakthru Officially Enters California, Closing Wine Warehouse Acquisition
April 18, 2023In January, Shanken News Daily exclusively reported Breakthru Beverage Group’s entry into the California market via the acquisition of Wine Warehouse for an undisclosed sum. Yesterday, the distribution giant closed that deal, officially marking its entry into the Golden State. Wine Warehouse, which has revenues of approximately $800 million, is now operating as Breakthru Beverage California.
Breakthru has appointed former Wine Warehouse president and COO Greg Akins as its acting executive vice president in California, which now becomes part of the wholesaler’s West region, also encompassing Arizona, Colorado, and Nevada. Additionally, Breakthru has now launched its Aspect fine wine division in California. Calling the Golden State a “critical market to our growth strategy,” company president and CEO Tom Bené said the business is well positioned to accelerate moving forward.
“The Myerson family built Wine Warehouse around its passion as fine wine collectors and has by far the most prestigious fine wine portfolio in California, but they also assembled an excellent portfolio of emerging spirits and beer brands along the way,” said Bené. “Launching Aspect Fine Wine is the first of many investments we intend to make in the business.” Breakthru said it plans to boost the California business with “additional sales supports, commercial tools, and business intelligence capabilities to reach deeper and broader into both on and off-premise accounts throughout the state.”
Overall, Breakthru is now in 16 markets nationwide, with total 2023 revenues projected at $8.2 billion, according to Shanken’s Impact Newsletter. With the addition of California, Breakthru has unveiled a new regional structure, with four regions across North America all reporting in to COO Julian Burzynski.—Daniel Marsteller
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