“We are discount- oriented [with spirits] as well, and with some of the 1.75s, we work on only a 13% margin – we want to stay competitive with the Costcos of the
world.” —Jason Schneider, store manager
Bottle Barn doesn’t have a very visible web presence, in part because both whole- salers and wineries would rather not have certain products widely advertised at the low prices the store offers. “In that regard, we tend to fly under the radar a bit. We don’t want to upset our suppliers,” said Schneider.
Hot Spirits T
he hottest items these days in spir- its, said Schneider, are vodka, bour- bon and rye whisky. Of the com- mercial brands of vodka, he said, the top are the three S’s — Smirnoff, Stoli and Svedka, with Grey Goose and Ketel One topping the premium brands
Among bourbons, there are traditionals like Jack Daniels, Jim Beam, Ancient Age, and premiums, like Bulleit, which Schneider said is “on fire right now, as is Buffalo Trace.” As to pricing of spirits, “we are discount-oriented there as well, and with some of the 1.75s, we work on only a 13% margin – we want to stay competitive with the Costcos of the world.” But again, the word isn’t widely spread on such things.
He is as surprised as Pearson at the rebirth of inter- est in Riesling. “We couldn’t sell Riesling 10 years ago. Now Ben spends a good deal of time tracking these things down. “We may not ever do the volume with those wines that we do with others, but the image of the store is important, and our customers want these wines.” The store is not greatly interested in doing much internet, online business at the moment. “Yes, we could improve in that area, but we have to be careful.” He said most distributors with whom Bottle Barn
Distilled spirits sales are also a boon to Bottle Barn’s bottom line, and they include many of the major national brands as well as harder-to-find boutique products.
works “seem to want to please Safeway and Costco any way they can and the last thing they can afford to do is get thrown out of those places, so we have to have a low profile in many ways.” As a result, if Bottle Barn has a price lower than Costco on a particular item, it will not advertise the fact.
Bottle Barn was bought by current owner Bruce Emmons in 1990. Schneider said Emmons is always looking for ways to expand image the company’s image. But until now, there has been little negative con- sumer feedback on the warehouse-like image. Schneider said he and his employees have strategized “how to make it more shop-able,” but added, “maybe how we look is part of the charm. Sort of, it is what it is.” And what it is is great value, huge selection, and a s
friendly staff. Beverage Dynamics • www.beveragedynamics.com • July/August 2011 • 27
