Tag Archive: retailers
Charles Sonnenberg Of Frugal MacDoogal On The Changing Retail and Distribution Landscape
Nashville-based Frugal MacDoogal Wine & Liquor Warehouse is the largest beverage alcohol retailer in Tennessee. Owner Charles Sonnenberg started the business in 1983 and branched out to South Carolina in 1990, when he opened a second store in Fort Mill, and again in 2004 with a third store in Columbia. Reliable industry sources estimate that his annual revenues are $45 million. Sonnenberg believes the entrance of Berkshire Hathaway’s McLane Company into the beverage alcohol distribution business last year (with its purchase of Empire Distributors in North Carolina and Georgia and Horizon Wine & Spirits in Tennessee) could signal a paradigm shift in the way beverage alcohol goes to market. He recently spoke to Shanken News Daily about the changing wholesale and retail environment. Continue reading →
Posted in News on August 5, 2011Florida’s ABC Fine Wine And Spirits Adapts To Changing Landscape In Securing Future Growth
Orlando, Florida-based ABC Fine Wine & Spirits is the largest independent beverage alcohol retailer in the state. The 150-unit company dominated the Florida market until six years ago, when competition intensified from multi-state players like Total Wine & More and the Publix supermarket chain. But ABC has since adapted to the new retail landscape with aggressive pricing and a massive modernization plan that includes a new store design concept. Thirty ABC units will have been updated by this year’s holiday season. According to reliable industry sources, total revenues of the privately held ABC reached approximately $475 million last year. Shanken News Daily recently interviewed Charles Bailes, who is ABC’s chairman and CEO, and his brother Jess, who is executive vice president, to get an update on progress. Continue reading →
Posted in News on July 29, 2011Texas Retail Giant Spec’s To Move Into Dallas Market By Year End
Houston, Texas-based retailer Spec’s Wines, Spirits & Finer Foods is planning to enter the Dallas market by year-end, according to a report in The Dallas Morning News. Continue reading →
Posted in News on July 29, 2011Gary’s Wine And Marketplace Taps Upscale Suburban Market, Hitting $50 Million In Annual Sales
New Jersey-based Gary’s Wine & Marketplace has continued to thrive even during the economic downturn by offering its affluent suburban customers selection and good value. The three-unit operation had sales of $45 million in 2010, and sales are expected to reach $50 million this year. Of that total, 65% is wine, 13% spirits, 11% beer and 11% food/miscellaneous items. Gary Fisch owns the 13,000-square-foot store in Madison and 24,000-square-foot location in Wayne, which opened three years ago. His wife Liz owns the 13,000-square-foot unit in Bernardsville. (New Jersey law prohibits an individual from owning more than two licenses). Shanken News Daily recently spoke with Fisch about their growing business. Continue reading →
Posted in News on July 22, 2011Liquor Privatization Will Go To Voters Again In Washington, With Revised Proposal
Two voter initiatives to privatize liquor sales in Washington State went down to defeat last November, but proponents of one measure have regrouped and gotten a new version on the ballot this fall. Continue reading →
Posted in News on July 18, 2011The Rise Of Stew Leonard’s Wines: Annual Sales Hit $100 Million In Just Over A Decade
Tri-state area upscale grocer Stew Leonard Jr. expanded into wine retailing in 1999, and today there are nine wine stores bearing his name: three in Connecticut, three in New York state and three in New Jersey. Stew Leonard’s Wines operations now ring up total annual sales of $100 million, having rapidly emerged as one of the biggest players in the tri-state wine business. (Stew Leonard’s sells wine, distilled spirits and beer in Connecticut and New Jersey, its newest market, and wine and spirits only in New York.) Shanken News Daily recently spoke with Leonard, who also serves as president and CEO of the four-unit Stew Leonard’s Farm Fresh Food stores. Continue reading →
Posted in News on July 15, 2011
