Interview, Part 2: Breakthru Co-Chairmen Charlie Merinoff And Danny Wirtz
January 31, 2024In the second part of our interview, Breakthru Beverage co-chairmen Charlie Merinoff and Danny Wirtz discuss the national accounts landscape, efforts in the e-commerce sphere, and the leadership transition of the past several months following the passing of legendary co-founder Rocky Wirtz.
SND: How has Breakthru responded to the growing importance of national accounts in the U.S. market? And does the ramp-up in that area mean less attention for independents?
Merinoff: One does not take away from the other. We build dedicated resources for national accounts, but we don’t take away from our independents. Now, one is cannibalizing the other, but it’s not being driven by us, it’s being driven by the marketplace.
One of the generational changes in the wholesale tier is that previous generations have been very supplier-centric, and if there was any criticism of the industry, it would be that wholesalers think of their suppliers more than their end customer. Bringing in a guy like Tom Bené (as Breakthru CEO) was really about not losing that focus on our suppliers who determine what we sell or not, but also becoming much more customer-centric. Tom came from not only Pepsi, but Sysco, where you have no exclusive items, you don’t have real brands. It was all about being customer-centric. He’s bringing something to our company that will be a competitive advantage over time.
Wirtz: Tom has driven that customer mindset to understand what those large strategic customers are looking for from their partners and make sure we’re providing that. Seeing some wins and recognition from Walmart and Walgreens last year indicate that we’re absolutely on the right track. At the same time, we have to continue to find ways to be value-add and ensure that local independent retailers are able to keep up with the changing dynamics.
SND: Where are you focusing your e-commerce efforts currently, and what does the future hold for that facet of the business?
Wirtz: What we’re asking ourselves is, within the sales process, how does e-commerce allow our company to engage with customers in a 24/7 environment? How does it free up our sales consultants’ time for them to be more value-add in the account by doing a deeper set of higher level sales presentations? If you think about the amount of transactions that happen through our company, we’re in an age where we can find things to automate, and then our time can be better spent face-to-face telling the stories of these incredible brands.
It’s also about providing data transparency and insights with our customers. We’re making multimillion-dollar decisions on a daily basis and anything that can help us inform how we project, how we buy, how we invest with our partners is going to make us all better. That’s where I think the industry is heading and where I see Breakthru taking a lead role.
Merinoff: Our salespeople sometimes wonder, are they going to be disenfranchised in this B2B environment? I tell them, this is going to be the golden age for salespeople. Now, if you’re a transactional salesperson, you should be worried. If all you did was pick up the order, make sure it was delivered, make sure the credit was done, all those transactional activities, you’re right, we are going to automate that.
We used to serve information in a tea cup to our customers. We’re now delivering it through a fire hose for all of our brands. They are inundated with information. And it will be those salespeople who sift through it, take the items that make the most sense for those customers, and then bring those items to life in the store, who excel. Those people are going to be priceless.
SND: Last year, the industry lost Breakthru founding partner Rocky Wirtz, with Danny assuming Rocky’s former role as co-chairman. How has the transition gone and what does it mean for the organization?
Wirtz: Going through this, I’ve had a great appreciation for two things. One is the industry itself. You begin to realize that whether it’s a competitor, a supplier, or a partner, the incredible amount of friendships that exist in this industry that are there for support and love during a moment of grief like this. And then, these can be very lonely, sad moments, but while my dad’s not behind me anymore, I’ve got Charlie, I’ve got his family, I’ve got my own family. So this Breakthru family is there to catch us. My dad would not want anybody wasting any time looking back; keep looking forward, keep making it better. And he was absolutely subscribed to the premise that his job was to make the next generation stronger than he was, and that will be the charge for all of us as well.
Merinoff: Each of our fathers prepared us for this. Each new generation has a truly unfair advantage of having all that knowledge passed on. By the time they’re running it, they are so far ahead. Rocky, like my father, was more of a big picture person, while Danny and I are both more drawn to running operations. So Danny really has been entrenched in the business for a long time. But it does have an impact. The business just isn’t as much fun without him.
SND: It’s now been more than eight years since the announcement of the deal that created Breakthru. Has the partnership fulfilled the expectations that you had for it at that time?
Merinoff: Truly for me, infinitely better. The most difficult thing in merging a multi-generational business is those family cultures. They are so ingrained in the organizations that getting them to gel can be really challenging. I think why our deal exceeded both of our expectations was how aligned culturally the two companies were from the start. If there was a division of thinking, it was more between Rocky and me on one side and Danny and the next generation on the other, rather than the Wirtz block versus the Merinoff block.
Wirtz: We’ve also onboarded a lot of fresh talent from outside of Breakthru. Obviously Tom Bené being the perfect example, coming from outside the industry. So you have this mixture of legacy and experience from our former companies, the progression of new next-generation leadership, and then this great injection of external fresh thinking. All that blended together has made for a team and a company now that has tremendous momentum.
Subscribe to Shanken News Daily’s Email Newsletter, delivered to your inbox each morning.Tagged : Breakthru
