A Brief History of Southern Wine & Spirits of Indiana

Following an early 2010 announcement of its intention to enter the Indiana market, Southern Wine and Spirits of America, Inc., the nation’s leading wine and spirits distributor, announced in March 2010, the appointment of Gerald Rivero, Jr. as Executive Vice President, General Manager of the Company’s new Indiana division. By July 2010, top-notch sales and operational teams were in place to commence statewide operations in Indiana.

In signaling Southern’s commitment to assemble an all-Indiana sales and operational team, Wayne Chaplin, President & Chief Operating Officer of Southern Wine & Spirits of America, said, “We are pleased by the talented people we have been able to attract, the readiness of our facilities and the warm welcome we have received in the Indiana marketplace.”

At the time of opening for business in Indiana, Mr. Rivero, said, “We have completed the up fit of our new ‘home’--a 211,000 square-foot distribution facility in Greenwood, Indiana. In addition, we have two satellite hubs in Gary and Evansville as well as a 7,500 square-foot sales office in the state capital of Indianapolis. The Greenwood distribution facility is truly cutting edge with hi-tech automated sortation and shipping systems—all integrated with our warehouse management system (WMS) backbone.”

Brad Vassar, Executive Vice President, General Manager, Southern Wine & Spirits of America, explained, “We are extremely excited to draw on an exceptionally talented pool of Indianan professionals and are thrilled that we have been able to create the number of jobs that we have in this challenging economy.”

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 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.