StateWays ■ www.stateways.com ■ January/February 2015
4
StateWays
®
Editor
Jeremy Nedelka
Tel: 203-855-8499 x213
jnedelka@specialtyim.com
Art Director
Adam Lane
Contributing Editors
Alia Akkam
Melissa Niksic
Matt Remsberg
Jack Robertiello
Thomas Henry Strenk
Senior Regional Sales Manager
Bruce Kostic
Tel: 203-855-8499, ext. 215
bkostic@specialtyim.com
Senior Regional Sales Manager
Mark Marcon
Tel: 248-761-6231
mmarcon@specialtyim.com
Senior Regional Sales Manager
Debbie Rittenberg
Tel: 215-860-0306
drittenberg@specialtyim.com
Senior Research Analyst
Adam Rogers
Vice President, Beverage
Amy Collins
acollins@epgmediallc.com
Production Director
Cherri Perschmann
Tel: 763-383-4425
cperschmann@epgmediallc.com
List Rental
Jim Scova
Tel: 914-368-1012
jscova@MeritDirect.com
Reprints
Circulation and Audience
Development Manager
Debra Welter
Tel: 847-720-5614
dwelter@specialtyim.com
StateWays is published by
The Beverage Information Group,
a division of Specialty Information
Media
E D I T O R ' S N O T E
A Spirited Journey
W
ine and spirits are cultivated and distilled on six continents and in nearly every
nation. For many societies a certain type, fl avor or style of beverage is a point
of national pride — a tradition handed down from generation to generation.
Consumers in the U.S. are fortunate to have not only domestic wines and spirits — but also
so many imported products available at their fi ngertips, offering them access to the result of
hundreds (or thousands) of years of history and innovation.
This issue of StateWays celebrates the variety of international beverages sold at retail,
with Japanese imports, Irish spirits, Canadian whisky and Malbecs among the categories
covered.
The companies, brands, personalities, distilling techniques, raw materials and traditions in
each country make its culture's history with alcohol unique. Learning about that history and
sharing it with customers is a necessary sales tool that creates a connection to the product —
allowing them to experience it in a new way.
The appeal of drinking an imported beverage should be the same as trying a new cuisine or
reading a work of literature in its original language, since wines and spirits are a refl ection
of the culture that created them.
Fortunately for control state personnel, your shelves are the liquid equivalent of EPCOT's
World Showcase. All you have to do is guide customers on their journey around the world,
showing them the way to unfamiliar lands. Offering customers a history lesson with their
import purchase, along with native food pairing suggestions and drink recipes, will take them
on an international voyage from the comfort of their home town. That's an experience they
won't soon forget.
Jeremy Nedelka, Editor
Correction: The November/December issue incorrectly stated Pennsylvania's sales fi gures in
the "Fiscal Year in Review." The statistics reported for fi scal year 2014 were not reported the
same way as in fi scal year 2013 — therefore they are not comparable. Pennsylvania's sales
fi gures did not decline last year; in fact, they increased by 3.2 percent from $2.043b in FY13
to $2.107b in FY14, according to Financial Operations Director Oren Bachman. Unit sales
of wine and spirits each rose by 2.3 percent. StateWays will provide a longer correction in the
March/April issue, where we will re-state Pennsylvania's sales fi gures with the updated data.
We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.
