StateWays is the only magazine exclusively covering the control state system within the beverage alcohol industry, with annual updates from liquor control commissions and alcohol control boards and yearly fiscal reporting from control jurisdictions
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/64952
BCA NABCA Distillers and Cincinnati-based Meier's Wine Cellars as part of the Luxco Family. Paramount and Meier's are more committed than ever before to continuing to grow and modernize the Ohio facilities. Fortunately, Robert Manchick has agreed to remain part of the sales and marketing team at Paramount. There is no one more knowledgeable about Paramount and Meier's than "Mr. M." The changes and challenges associated with integrating and updating an entire company to the Luxco way of getting the job done have been energizing for everyone. We look forward to expanding the Paramount and Meier's brands throughout the Control States. As the "Constant Changes" in all of the Control States and Industry evolve in 2012, perhaps there has never been a more critical time for all of us to work together thorough the leadership of incoming Chairman Bodi, Jim Sgueo and the NABCA. As Chairman Bodi takes the reins, we know he will build on the success of Chairman Stapleton and past NABCA Chairperson's. Working through the NABCA we can maintain a strong system of communications between individual control states and industry to nav- igate through changes that lie ahead to find mutually beneficial solutions. STEVE FELLER Vice President of North American Sales Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc. Brandy, sell in all national markets through multiple distribution channels. Certainly the distilled spirits landscape is an ever- shifting one, as mergers and consolidation constantly change the players in all three tiers, as technology and consumer buying habits force the industry to embrace change, and as sociological and economic realities threaten nearly 80 years of precedent. With consumer expectations of efficiency in routes to market, and the resultant cost savings, the pressures to make changes to the status quo have never been greater. I t is again a pleasure to provide Heaven Hill Distilleries' perspective on the issues facing the bev- erage alcohol industry and the control states in par- ticular. In addition to being the fourth largest national supplier to the control states, Heaven Hill is the coun- try's largest remaining independent family owned and operated distilled spirits supplier, so we feel we can offer a unique perspective on industry trends and changes. We offer the top-selling brand in two different control states, and our leading brands, including Evan Williams Bourbon, Burnett's Vodka and Christian Brothers StateWays s www.stateways.com s May/June 2012 Despite the multitude of changes in consumer habits, demographics, industry consolidation, technology and the legislative environment, we continue to believe firmly in the viability and utility of the control state system, per- haps even more so due to the aforementioned trends. The goal of Heaven Hill, and of most business partners in the industry, is for consumers to have fair and responsible access to a broad selection of brands, where the consumer is the ultimate arbiter and owner of the purchase decision. We believe that through today's control state system, and the partnerships it creates between tiers, consumers are very well served. They have ready, yet controlled, access to a broad range of products, offered at competitive prices, usually very effectively merchandised and promot- ed. And in return, the control states realize a significant, reliable revenue stream for support of widely varying state funded programs. Today, many of the tenets surrounding the forma- tion of NABCA still endure — providing resources, compiling research, promoting socially responsible practices, and fostering relationships among states, suppliers, the federal government and other industry related groups — and Heaven Hill has been an active supporter and member of NABCA for many years. The need for a controlled distribution system that rec- ognized that alcohol was a class unto itself, a "sui generis," was as real in 1934 when our company was founded as it is today. And although the world has become faster, smaller, noisier, and perhaps a bit more intrusive, the control systems instituted at the time of the founding of NABCA are arguably more important than ever today. Through more effective advocacy and cooperative programs, and through communication with other sup- pliers and partners in the other tiers, Heaven Hill intends to continue to grow within the existing systems, rather than abandon many of the practices and alliances that have led us to become one of the largest national suppliers. While perhaps the only thing constant in this world is change, change must be managed carefully, and always tempered with control and a sense of social responsibility. SW 51