PART TWO – A TALK WITH DARRYL ROSEN
WSD had the chance to sit down with Darryl Rosen this week, the former president of Chicago retailer Sam’s Wines and Spirits. In part two of the interview, Darryl discusses industry trends, the future of wine and spirits and improving the relationship between retailers and wholesalers. Click here for part one.
Wine & Spirits Daily: In your opinion, what are some of the most notable trends in the wines and spirits business right now?
Darryl: I would say that – several things. The first thing obviously is that there’s a lot of great wine out there and you don’t have to spend a lot of money on great wine. That’s probably the most interesting thing I’ve seen over the years – the emergence of all these areas of the world that produce great wine and just how nice a bottle of wine you can have for six to eight dollars.
WSD: But it seems like one of the biggest trends right now is trading up.
Darryl: But – and that’s been around forever. You’re always going to have that segment of the population. It’s funny; I don’t know any of those people but the people that want to have something very expensive on their table – there are people out there like that, but I think they’ve always been out there. As people get more educated, you see pockets of people that are sort of more adamant that they’re not going to spend a lot of money on wine.
Another huge change is this notion of hiring people that are better at communication and better with basic people skills than people who know a ton about wine, because the fact of the matter is there’s so much information out there. In many cases I think I would have people on the floor that were knowledgeable and they were young and we brought them along as quickly as we could, and we had great people, but customers that came in were intelligent, affluent, worldly, traveled a lot. I think that it almost changed a little bit the dynamic where it became a different type of person you wanted to hire. You didn’t always have to have the most intelligent wine person. You needed to have some people skills. The way that businesses will compete now is through their service.
WSD: Right. Does it surprise you how fast craft and imported beers caught on with the general public and other retailers?
Darryl: Well, no. Because look what’s happened to wine. Look at wine in the public consciousness and look at how people know more about different grapes. Look at how they know more about the different regions of the world that make grapes and the different wines of the world. It just took a little longer.
WSD: Right.
Darryl: But yeah. I was always amazed at the different flavors of beer – you know, the curry this and the honey that and the different beers and the great companies that sort of came out of nowhere after the wine craze. How great a company like Sam Adams and Anchor Steam and all the products that these companies are putting out. I’m not 100% up-to-date on the newest beers, but I remember when Fat Tire came to Chicago. And if I were to tell you the top five items in terms of dollars sold, Fat Tire was on that list. And it was just nuts. The greatest thing about Fat Tire is, and I don’t know how this happens but we actually made money on it. We actually made money on it and I don’t know if they tried to protect that or not, but we actually made money on it.
WSD: What do you see as some of the biggest disconnects between wholesalers and retailers?
Darryl: Well, you know I just spoke to Future Brands and one thing I stressed is crossing the finish line with retail customers. And the finish line in the world of wine and spirit distributors is getting to the place where retailers can do business with the distributors not because they have to, but because they want to. And the change that that mentality brings – when you do business with somebody because you want to, it’s a whole different environment than having to. And you know how the laws are. If I want to buy Absolut and I want to buy Kendall Jackson, I had to buy it from one company. I didn’t have a choice. And I think that’s a little source of resentment for retailers, and I think that’s why you see a lot of big retailers around the country sort of doing their own thing.
They’re saying, ‘We’re going to go out and get great wine and we’re going to put our own label on it and we’re going to carry it. We’re going to push things that smaller distributors have, lesser known negotiants and importers, and we’re going to do our own thing because we’re not satisfied with the relationships we have with the other tiers.’
So that’s why I work with the other tiers now, to help them improve their relationships with the retailers to get to a point where the retailers are happy to do business with them.
WSD: What do you see as the future of the wine and spirits industry?
Darryl: I don’t know if it’s a question of consumption. I don’t really know if consumption is going to go up or down. I think that things move pretty slowly in this business....I think the smaller players that deliver great service are going to stand out ahead. They’re going to find ways to differentiate themselves, whether through their product offering or their help or their programs or their events, they’re going to find a way to stand out.
And on the bigger scale, some of the bigger chains around the country are going to keep growing and if they find a way to crack into more states and get more exposure.
WSD: Great. Well what are you doing now that you sold Sam’s?
Darryl: I am a professional speaker so I give presentations. I’ve already written a book which is on my website. I’ve also done a lot of writing on customer service topics, on management topics, on the business topics that I don’t think get a lot of play in this industry. I’m going to be working with retailers on their service; I’m going to be working with distributors and suppliers on their relationships with retailers. Wholesalers enjoy my perspective, having been in their customer’s shoes and all.
WSD: Thank you so much for your time.
To view Darryl’s website, go to www.darrylrosen.com
Wine & Spirits Daily: In your opinion, what are some of the most notable trends in the wines and spirits business right now?
Darryl: I would say that – several things. The first thing obviously is that there’s a lot of great wine out there and you don’t have to spend a lot of money on great wine. That’s probably the most interesting thing I’ve seen over the years – the emergence of all these areas of the world that produce great wine and just how nice a bottle of wine you can have for six to eight dollars.
WSD: But it seems like one of the biggest trends right now is trading up.
Darryl: But – and that’s been around forever. You’re always going to have that segment of the population. It’s funny; I don’t know any of those people but the people that want to have something very expensive on their table – there are people out there like that, but I think they’ve always been out there. As people get more educated, you see pockets of people that are sort of more adamant that they’re not going to spend a lot of money on wine.
Another huge change is this notion of hiring people that are better at communication and better with basic people skills than people who know a ton about wine, because the fact of the matter is there’s so much information out there. In many cases I think I would have people on the floor that were knowledgeable and they were young and we brought them along as quickly as we could, and we had great people, but customers that came in were intelligent, affluent, worldly, traveled a lot. I think that it almost changed a little bit the dynamic where it became a different type of person you wanted to hire. You didn’t always have to have the most intelligent wine person. You needed to have some people skills. The way that businesses will compete now is through their service.
WSD: Right. Does it surprise you how fast craft and imported beers caught on with the general public and other retailers?
Darryl: Well, no. Because look what’s happened to wine. Look at wine in the public consciousness and look at how people know more about different grapes. Look at how they know more about the different regions of the world that make grapes and the different wines of the world. It just took a little longer.
WSD: Right.
Darryl: But yeah. I was always amazed at the different flavors of beer – you know, the curry this and the honey that and the different beers and the great companies that sort of came out of nowhere after the wine craze. How great a company like Sam Adams and Anchor Steam and all the products that these companies are putting out. I’m not 100% up-to-date on the newest beers, but I remember when Fat Tire came to Chicago. And if I were to tell you the top five items in terms of dollars sold, Fat Tire was on that list. And it was just nuts. The greatest thing about Fat Tire is, and I don’t know how this happens but we actually made money on it. We actually made money on it and I don’t know if they tried to protect that or not, but we actually made money on it.
WSD: What do you see as some of the biggest disconnects between wholesalers and retailers?
Darryl: Well, you know I just spoke to Future Brands and one thing I stressed is crossing the finish line with retail customers. And the finish line in the world of wine and spirit distributors is getting to the place where retailers can do business with the distributors not because they have to, but because they want to. And the change that that mentality brings – when you do business with somebody because you want to, it’s a whole different environment than having to. And you know how the laws are. If I want to buy Absolut and I want to buy Kendall Jackson, I had to buy it from one company. I didn’t have a choice. And I think that’s a little source of resentment for retailers, and I think that’s why you see a lot of big retailers around the country sort of doing their own thing.
They’re saying, ‘We’re going to go out and get great wine and we’re going to put our own label on it and we’re going to carry it. We’re going to push things that smaller distributors have, lesser known negotiants and importers, and we’re going to do our own thing because we’re not satisfied with the relationships we have with the other tiers.’
So that’s why I work with the other tiers now, to help them improve their relationships with the retailers to get to a point where the retailers are happy to do business with them.
WSD: What do you see as the future of the wine and spirits industry?
Darryl: I don’t know if it’s a question of consumption. I don’t really know if consumption is going to go up or down. I think that things move pretty slowly in this business....I think the smaller players that deliver great service are going to stand out ahead. They’re going to find ways to differentiate themselves, whether through their product offering or their help or their programs or their events, they’re going to find a way to stand out.
And on the bigger scale, some of the bigger chains around the country are going to keep growing and if they find a way to crack into more states and get more exposure.
WSD: Great. Well what are you doing now that you sold Sam’s?
Darryl: I am a professional speaker so I give presentations. I’ve already written a book which is on my website. I’ve also done a lot of writing on customer service topics, on management topics, on the business topics that I don’t think get a lot of play in this industry. I’m going to be working with retailers on their service; I’m going to be working with distributors and suppliers on their relationships with retailers. Wholesalers enjoy my perspective, having been in their customer’s shoes and all.
WSD: Thank you so much for your time.
To view Darryl’s website, go to www.darrylrosen.com
posted at 12:38 PM
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