A Brief History of Southern Wine/Spirits West

On April 18, 2006, Wayne E. Chaplin, President and Chief Operating Officer of Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc., Miami, Florida, the country’s leading wine and spirits distributor with a tradition of delivering outstanding service since 1968, announced it had established a new multi-state partnership with Stephen Loeb, President and Chief Executive Officer of Alaska Distributors Co. of Seattle, Washington, one of the nation’s largest, multi-state wine and spirits distributors. The partnership’s aim is to strengthen their combined wine and spirits brokerage operations across six Northwest states. The Southern Wine/Spirits West operation covers the Control State markets of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Utah and Wyoming.

At the time of the announcement, Mr. Chaplin said, “We are excited to continue to build our Control State Group’s reach, which will now encompass 14 markets and cover approximately 65 percent of the total national Control State sales volume.”  Since the time this Alaska/Southern partnership was established, Southern Wine & Spirits of America subsequently commenced operations in Alabama in October 2006, bringing to 15 the number of Control State markets in which the Company operates, which collectively account for 72 percent of total national Control State sales volume; all told, the Company currently operates in 27 states.

Commenting on the partnership’s establishment, Mr. Loeb said at the time of the joint announcement: “It's an exciting day for our Spirits West Division to partner with Southern Wine & Spirits of America.  Their vision for a fully integrated Control State Group, focused on on-premise excellence and operational efficiencies, will help strengthen our existing operation and create more value for all our suppliers.”

At the time of the deal, Mr. Chaplin said, “We are excited to continue to build our Control State Group reach, which will now encompass 14 markets and cover approximately 65 percent of the total national Control State sales volume.” Since the time this Alaska/Southern partnership was established, Southern Wine & Spirits of America subsequently commenced operations in Alabama in October 2006, bringing to 15 the number of Control State markets in which the Company operates, which collectively account for 72 percent of total national Control State sales volume; all told, the Company currently operates in 27 states.

Additionally, at the time of the announcement, Mr. Chaplin noted, “Our new partnership with Alaska Distributors is another landmark in the history of Southern Wine & Spirits of America. We are very proud that Steve Loeb and the entire Alaska Distributors team will remain in place, as we jointly add talent while fully collaborating with our team to ensure the success of this great Pacific Northwest partnership.”

Brad Vassar, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc., said, “Our Control State Group, led by Peter Hickey, Executive Vice President, General Manager-Control States Group of Southern Wine & Spirits of America and his dedicated team, will work closely with Mike McLaughlin, Vice President, Control States of Spirits West on all state liquor control board issues, national initiatives, and supplier and brand programs and strategies as well as implement best practices in all our control state markets.”

Mr. Vassar added, “This new partnership will also help us as we align with our strategic suppliers across the West Coast. We look forward to working closely with Steve, Mike and the entire Spirits West team.”

Mike McLaughlin, Vice President, Control States of Spirits West, said, “We at Alaska Distributors and our entire Spirits West team are proud to partner with Peter Hickey and his entire Control States Group at Southern Wine & Spirits of America. Going forward, we will all remain intensely focused on serving the needs of our customers and working closely with all the respective Control States officials in the Pacific Northwest markets we are dedicated to serving.”

About Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc.

Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc. is the nation’s leading wine and spirits distributor with a tradition of service excellence since 1968. Based in Miami, Florida, the Company operates in 28 states, including six Pacific Northwest states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Utah and Wyoming in partnership with Alaska Distributors, Co. of Seattle. In addition, the multi-state distributor operates in 22 other states, including: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia. On a national basis, Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc. employs more than 10,000 team members.

About Alaska Distributors, Co.

Alaska Distributors Co., founded in 1934, distributes spirits, wine, beer and non-alcoholicbeverages in Alaska and wine, beer and non-alcoholic beverages in Washington and Northern Idaho. As a broker and in partnership with Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc., it operates in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Utah.  Their operating divisions include Alaska Distributors Co., Spirits West, Great Northern Beverage, Friendly Distributors and Harvest Vine Distributing. Currently, the Company employs more than 800 team members.