William Grant & Sons Renews With Empire Merchants In New York

William Grant & Sons and Empire Merchants have extended their long-term partnership in the New York market for another five years, building on a relationship that’s been in place since the 1960s. With the renewal, Empire will continue to distribute Grant brands like Glenfiddich, The Balvenie, Hendrick’s, Milagro, Tullamore Dew, Sailor Jerry, and Reyka, among others, in both the metro and upstate New York markets.

“The full team at Empire has consistently championed our portfolio of award-winning brands,” said Paul Basford, president and managing director of William Grant USA. “They have improved distribution year over year through their nearly 10,000 partner retail outlets while prioritizing our business drivers including the development of our luxury agenda and route-to-consumer strategy.”

Eric Pfeil, president and CEO of Empire Merchants, added that the renewal “will provide us the opportunity to widen our distribution within key retail partners, further cementing our commitment to the on-premise and beyond. Both organizations will continue to work closely on brand growth and innovation plans, on-premise prioritization, and distribution.”

Among William Grant’s key labels, Milagro Tequila crossed the 600,000-case threshold nationally on 21% growth last year, according to Impact Databank, while Hendrick’s gin was up 10% to 587,000 cases. Reyka vodka was also on the rise, posting 11% growth to above 200,000 cases.—Daniel Marsteller

Tagged : Empire Merchants, Glenfiddich, Hendrick's, Milagro, Reyka, The Balvenie, William Grant

GET YOUR FIRST LOOK AT 2021 DATA AND 2022 PROJECTIONS FOR THE WINE AND SPIRITS INDUSTRIES. ORDER YOUR 2022 IMPACT DATABANK REPORTS. CLICK HERE.