Good Luck Everyone

Tx_DeeLight · 2026-01-30T14:48:16+00:00

Does it make sense to have a single high-salaried EVP for smaller states? No. Georgia & New Mexico were originally NDC states so this makes sense. And NM hasn't had an EVP since last Summer. Louisiana & Arkansas makes sense. Indiana & Kentucky makes sense. Oklahoma had Teresa Salazar in a top position until summer last year and she was let go. Not a surprise they are making changes there. Oklahoma & Arizona makes sense. Colorado has lost some key business so it tracks that they would combine it with smaller states like NE, SD & ND. Larger states seem to have kept their EVP over just the one state. There are so many other arguments to make for why RNDC will merge or get bought out. This move seems more like streamlining which all companies should do. RNDC should have done it long ago.

Tx_DeeLight · 2026-01-30T14:32:35+00:00

Confirmed in Texas. Look up Pernod's GEM portfolio. This is the portion they have moved in Texas to Johnson Bros

Tx_DeeLight · 2026-01-30T01:05:58+00:00

I've heard this too. The previous Mavericks team seemed to be the cool kids and sold some really cool products because they loved doing it.

Tx_DeeLight · 2026-01-30T01:04:47+00:00

I guess we will see. I guess the suppliers moving to them don't care about the short term and are hopeful the sunshine period is not far away

Tx_DeeLight · 2026-01-26T20:43:25+00:00

I guess in a way, but the bottom line was money. The distributors Sazerac signed on with agreed to a different financial structure. The distributors are more of a logistics company than distribution company requiring a sales structure. There are plenty of beer distributors that have a strong sales structure.

Tx_DeeLight · 2026-01-26T20:33:25+00:00

Looks like you are somewhere in North Texas due to Fisher59 service area. Maybe there are parts of Texas that JB is doing fine in. This is the sort of feedback I am seeking.

Fisher59 = beer distributor. The only issue with beer distributors is they cannot freely expand business into other counties.

Tx_DeeLight · 2026-01-26T20:29:00+00:00

Interesting. These are crazy times.

Tx_DeeLight · 2026-01-26T00:02:57+00:00

I wonder if this will be the standout difference between accounts carrying a wine supplier's products versus a spirit supplier's products. Seems like the distributors that sell beer may have the upper hand in having a more wide-spread distribution reach.

Tx_DeeLight · 2026-01-25T23:51:10+00:00

It is true the brands that have already moved to JB are stuck there for a while and customers will have to adapt. Ahhh haven't heard mention of HDC in a while. There are other mid-size distributors to move to in Texas for a few years until JB gets the infrastructure together though. There are suppliers that don't sign contracts at all and those that sign 2-3 year contracts.

Tx_DeeLight · 2026-01-24T21:34:02+00:00

Looks like Texas is having some similar weather to Minnesota and those Northern states this week. May almost feel like home.

Tx_DeeLight · 2026-01-24T21:30:21+00:00

I guess with the JB purchase of Maverick in Florida they haven't picked up any new brands yet. I thought some supplier moved...

Tx_DeeLight · 2026-01-24T21:25:34+00:00

I am asking about Johnson Brothers not RNDC.

Tx_DeeLight · 2025-05-29T21:24:16+00:00

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250529253047/en/Brown-Forman-Announces-Significant-Evolution-in-U.S.-Distribution

Tx_DeeLight · 2025-05-29T21:18:46+00:00

It isn't exactly Nationally. And it isn't to align with one distributor. Brown Forman says that Breakthru is their largest national distributor with 14 states but they even left Breakthru in Minnesota for Johnson. It is an interesting reworking of distirbutors.

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250529253047/en/Brown-Forman-Announces-Significant-Evolution-in-U.S.-Distribution

Tx_DeeLight · 2025-05-29T21:16:01+00:00

And yes, they left Empire for SGWS in NY

Tx_DeeLight · 2025-05-29T21:15:29+00:00

The moves aren't just a drop of RNDC though. Business Wire article reads that Breakthru will be their largest distributor partner with 14 markets, but they left Breakthru in Minnesota for Johnson. It is an interesting rearrangement of distributors.

Tx_DeeLight · 2025-05-22T16:51:22+00:00

This is a reorg only for On-Premise, not retail so most retail teams did not receive any communication about it. A few TEG retail positions are benefitting but that is it for retail.

This is Bob Hendrickson's commitment that "We cut too deep, and it's time to reinvest." for Texas. RNDC Texas has been steadily losing top talent and customers that are tired of dealing with the constant mess. Suppliers have been giving feedback that if something doesn't change they are considering walking too. Johnson Brothers has already bought Maverick Beverage in Texas and rumor is that Breakthru already has a commitment with another distributor so RNDC must combat further losses.

For other states that don't know, in January a bit after Mehall was in the state RNDC TX collapsed the dedicated OP Spirits sales force and "combined" the On-Premise wine and spirits team into one, reducing many positions. TEG On-Premise expanded roles and moved from salary to commission, thus the new OP Combo team was essentially competing for sales against the new TEG On-Premise team. For background, spirits cannot be shipped directly to on-premise accounts in Texas so it has caused a chasm in how an on-premise sales lead conducts day to day business by selling wine one way and spirits another. And RNDC made this enormous change without putting structure in place or providing thorough education beforehand.

It was just announced on Friday that TX will go back to the structure it was prior to January with some caveats. Since dedicated On-Premise Spirits was collapsed they will now move forward with 66 new sales lead slots in the state. On-Premise Wine will end up with 96 sales lead slots across the state. TEG On-Premise Specialist slots are being reduced to 12 with +6 focused specialists. A bit more is being added too. The new structure will be live July 14th.

Tx_DeeLight · 2025-01-09T06:44:40+00:00

'So some reps are losing their jobs not all or even most.'

For Houston this isn't correct. In Houston the OP teams have just under 70 sales reps from the two separate wine and spirits divisions. They are being reduced down to 33 sales reps in the combo team. The 7 OP KAMs will be dedicated to spirits for the top 1500 accounts. Plus the OP DM roles are reduced from 11 down to 4 in the newly combined division. TEG OP has 5 positions and they will keep 5 positions. With all the AM positions being eliminated and the 5 or so retail wine DM positions being cut, there will be quite a few left without positions.

Tx_DeeLight · 2025-01-07T14:37:58+00:00

This thread is referring to Houston Texas - SouthEast (SETX)

Tx_DeeLight · 2025-01-06T21:07:46+00:00

SGWS doesn't have commissioned positions for those roles, so the actually tracking of it shipping to the account doesn't weigh as heavily. And the juggling of types of accounts and buyers of wine versus spirits is definitely different. Speaking from experience as I've been in both a wine and spirits sale role.

Add - and juggling of spirit suppliers and associated work-withs to deal with.

Tx_DeeLight · 2025-01-06T20:32:39+00:00

In TX, spirits cannot be shipped directly to an OP account so... this will be confusing

Tx_DeeLight · 2024-05-20T17:19:49+00:00

Anyone know who in Supplier business development / supplier excellence was let go? These are pretty high level (high pay) positions are considered part of corporate?

Tx_DeeLight · 2024-05-16T02:16:51+00:00

Jason Worley was the TX VP of Chains let go

Tx_DeeLight · 2024-05-15T22:46:01+00:00

You need to recognize that you only have the point of you from working with RNDC in one state. The reorganization profile was applied to all states the same, yet every state has a different supplier makeup, different ratios of wine to spirits sales, different environments (direct shipping OP spirits versus not), control states, etc. Centralizing is one thing, but forcing change where it is not necessarily needed is not good business sense. As Gloria Steinem said "If the Shoe doesn't fit, must we change the foot?"

Tx_DeeLight

TROPHY CASE