A Brief History of Southern Wine & Spirits of Mississippi

On February 1, 2006, Wayne E. Chaplin, President and Chief Operating Officer of Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc., announced the formation of Southern Wine & Spirits of Mississippi. At the time of this announcement, the Company operated in a total of 14 Control States including: Idaho, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont, Virginia Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming. Following that announcement, the Company subsequently established Southern Wine & Spirits of Alabama and Southern Wine & Spirits of Ohio, bringing to 16 the number of Control jurisdictions in which Southern Wine & Spirits of America operates.

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.

In making this announcement, Mr. Chaplin added, “As we have in all our operations, we will bring our expertise and leadership in the establishment and ongoing development of our Mississippi division.”

Mr. Chaplin noted that Southern looks forward to integrating the business formerly owned by David Koenig of D. J. Koenig & Associates, Inc., of Jackson, Mississippi, whose business will serve as the foundation of the expanded Southern Wine & Spirits of Mississippi operation; the acquisition is effective immediately.

At the time of this announcement, Mr. Chaplin added, “We are excited about our expansion into Mississippi and to work with the entire Koenig organization, whose understanding and experience in the local marketplace will be invaluable as we look to add more value to our trading partners. Our continued expansion into the Control State arena is a critical part of our overall supplier- and customer-centric growth strategy. This is especially true following our acquisition of Control State operations in New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, North Carolina, and Virginia together with our existing presence in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.”

Peter Hickey, Executive Vice President, General Manager – Control States Division of  Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc., said, “Our Company’s expansion into Mississippi is an integral part of Southern's overall strategy to offer our supplier partners as well as all our Control State customers the very highest levels of professional service. I look forward to working with all our Control State associates and our customers in Mississippi."

Mr. Koenig said, “We are thrilled to work with the Southern family, and we all look forward to working closely with the Company’s senior management to insure our suppliers and their brands are well represented throughout the state as we continue to enhance our service-oriented programs with our customers.”

Mr. Brad Vassar, Executive Vice President, General Manager of Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc., said, “We intend on adding manpower and resources to the Mississippi operation to ensure that our current suppliers as well as those that choose to join with us achieve greater coverage that is second to none in this marketplace.”

 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.

As of 2010, Southern’s Control State Group is present in 16 out of the total 18 Control State markets, plus Montgomery County, Maryland, which collectively account for more than 80 percent of total Control State wine and spirits volume.