Market Watch: Acker’s Evolution Into A $200 Million Player

With over 200 years of history, New York City-based wine and spirits retailer and auction house Acker today is a nearly $200 million business, led by the auction side. For most of its past, Acker was retail-only, offering its wares to a loyal, celebrity-studded clientele. But back in 1993, Acker benefited from a state law that opened some major opportunities. New York retailers became permitted to offer samples in-store, which enabled Acker to begin wine tastings and education. Perhaps more importantly, the law made wine auctions through retailers a possibility.

In 1998, Acker chairman John Kapon’s first year of hosting auctions, the auction business grossed $4 million. In the following year, auction revenue reached $9 million, roughly equal to the retail side. But the two branches of the business would never again be even remotely equal in sales. By 2005 the Acker auction side was raking in nearly $25 million, dwarfing the retail segment.

Recent years have seen a dramatic expansion of Acker outposts around the world, with satellite offices that offer specialized client services for auctions and sales. The list currently includes Taiwan, Macau, Vietnam, Japan, and South America, as well as Hong Kong, London, and New York, and a Newark, Delaware site that opened in 2020.

The New York City store has remained Acker’s sole retail hub, but plans are afoot to expand domestically as early as this year—with California, Florida, and Texas as target destinations, areas where existing Acker clients already live. Market Watch has more.—Susannah Skiver Barton

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