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A Brief History of Southern Wine & Spirits of Colorado
Southern Wine & Spirits of Colorado is one of the state's largest
wine, spirits, beer and non-alcoholic beverage distributors. In fact,
Southern Wine & Spirits of Colorado
is growing rapidly and is poised to record stronger growth in the next few
years, according to a recent survey in Impact
Newsletter, a publication of M. Shanken Communications, Inc.
Since its founding in 1968, Southern Wine and Spirits of
America, Inc. (Southern), is the leading nationally recognized wine and
spirits distributor in the United
States known for its historic commitment
to delivering the highest standards of customer service, creative marketing
programs and partnerships. The Company is also known for its
best-in-industry professional and well-trained sales, operational and support
staff, its ongoing investments in and contributions to hospitality and
beverage education for its staff, its customers and to many national
educational institutions. In addition, Southern is justly respected for its
deeply held belief in the importance of giving back, for being a socially
responsible corporate citizen and for making generous contributions to
national, state and local charitable organizations.
With approximately 320 sales and support staff now working
statewide, operating chiefly from one distribution center in Denver,
Southern Wine & Spirits of Colorado
marshals a state-of-the-art distribution, marketing and merchandising
network. The company's modern Denver
facility is home to its various statewide sales, executive, administrative,
information management, educational, transportation and business operations.
The complex is dedicated to provide first-class customer service for on- and
off-premise accounts, as well as for brand owners and suppliers.
Supported by these impressive operational capabilities,
Southern Wine & Spirits of Colorado
offers timely deliveries to the state's hotels, resorts and independent
restaurant and retail accounts from Grand Junction
in the west to Boulder
in the east.
Mr. Richard Crossland, Executive Vice President, General
Manager of Southern Wine & Spirits of Colorado,
explains that the parent company's Rocky
Mountain operation is
the result of the acquisition of a Colorado-based distributorship in early 2001.
Mr. Crossland, a 20-year-plus veteran of the wine and
spirits business, comments on the changes that took place following the
merger, "With regard to our greatest asset, our people, we quickly
realized the wealth of their experience, and their dedication to, and
knowledge of, the marketplace. We also communicated the “Southern-style"
of great sales support. With regard to the operation, our approach was
similar; we simply continued building on a strong foundation while utilizing
Southern's advanced technology and information systems, all of which are
dedicated to providing excellence in customer service.”
The merger also resulted in a number of practical changes,
Mr. Crossland explains, “We created a host of new sales and educational
positions to support our spirit, wine and fine wine brands and lines; we
re-organized the internal structure of our sales force to better serve our
customers; we reconfigured each salesperson's selling area and client list to
help them sell more effectively; we installed a state-of-the-art information
system; we refined and improved our customer delivery practices; we invested
heavily in manpower and educational and product-knowledge support for our
entire on-premise sales force and interested on- and off-premise customers; we
inaugurated a host of new internal and external special events to boost our
statewide profile; and, last but not least, we are more involved than ever in
a wide range of community affairs both in Denver and across the entire
state.”
Mr. Crossland previously served as Vice President, General
Manager of Southern Wine & Spirits of New Mexico. Southern Wine & Spirits of
Colorado currently practices a number of
activities that first proved successful in other markets, for example,
Southern Wine & Spirits of Colorado
has expanded its merchandising duties and coverage in order to “be present
and supportive of the Southern Wine & Spirits portfolio during the
state's peak selling times and respond to our customers' unique selling
requirements.” Mr. Crossland also oversaw a complete revamping of the
company's warehouse operations, utilizing the operational skills honed in
several other Southern Wine & Spirits markets.
The desire to provide “Superior Customer Service” prompted
the changes undertaken in the last 18 months. Mr. Crossland says, “We are
manic about customer service and we want to make sure that we exceed the
needs of our customers.”
The evidence that combining generous measures of local
talent with the company's impressive technological, administrative and
on-premise sales prowess is succeeding, is the dramatic growth of Southern
Wine & Spirits of Colorado's market share over the last 18 months. These
sales gains are from winning new business and new lines from brand owners, as
well as strong organic growth in Southern Wine & Spirits of Colorado's existing
wine and spirits portfolio.
Southern Wine & Spirits of Colorado is passionately committed to, and
confident of, winning more business in the future. Bullish about the Colorado
market, Mr. Crossland notes that the state's population is growing rapidly,
that its demographic profile--young, highly educated and motivated to
work--is tremendously encouraging; and the fact that the state offers
terrific year-round recreational opportunities will no doubt be a boon to the
future of the state's hospitality, tourism and retail businesses.
Looking ahead, Mr. Crossland predicts: “Thanks to our
obsession with serving our customers, we are poised to grab greater market
share. I believe Southern Wine & Spirits of Colorado will continue to grow its
leadership position in the state. Here in Colorado,
we are fielding the best people; we are proven brand builders; a great
national company--Southern Wine & Spirits of America--supports us and, last
but not least, we have terrific relations with all our great suppliers. These
are the attributes that typically bring our customers, our suppliers and our
operations greater sales and success.”
Today, Southern operates
in 32 states, including its original Florida
market, where its corporate headquarters is located in Miami. Over the past 42 years, pursuing a
determined strategy to expand through internal growth as well as through the
acquisition of established wholesalers; the multi-state distributor currently operates in: Alabama, Arizona,
California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Kentucky, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana,
Maine, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North
Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia and West
Virginia—as well as the additional seven states of Alaska, Washington,
Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Utah through the Southern-Odom/Spirits
West partnership. Southern also has a presence in Maryland
and the District of Columbia
through a joint venture with F.P. Winner Wine & Spirits. Southern has
recently announced the pending formation of a joint venture in Minnesota with J.J. Taylor Distributing Company—and
holds operating licenses and permits in Nebraska
and Texas.
On a national basis, Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc. employs
more than 11,000 team members.
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