Walmarts’ Push To Sell Spirits
Florida’s independent spirits retailers are gearing up for a legislative fight against Walmart, which is said to be planning a new effort to relax retail restrictions on spirits sales in the Sunshine state. Currently, Florida’s licensed spirits retailers can only sell...
U.S. Spirits Market Sees Slower Growth In 2013, As Vodka Continues To Dominate
The U.S. spirits market eked out modest growth in 2013, but was unable to match its gains of recent years. After advancing by more than 3% in 2011 and 2012, spirits volumes last year grew by just 1.3% to 208.6 million cases, according to Impact Databank. Growth was...
U.S. Wine Market Rises 1.5% In 2013
The U.S. wine market continued its long-term growth streak in 2013, as a solid off-premise performance offset tougher conditions in the on-premise. The market added nearly 5 million cases over the past year, according to Impact Databank. Overall growth slowed slightly...
Suntory agrees US$16bn deal to acquire Beam Inc
Japan's Suntory Holdings has agreed to acquire US-based spirits firm Beam Inc for US$16bn. The deal, which will create the world's third biggest premium spirits player, is expected to close by the second quarter of this year pending regulatory approval, the companies...
Craft and Cider Take Share from Beers During 2013
According to GuestMetrics, despite a difficult year for the beer category in on-premise in 2013, Craft and Cider both continued to post positive volume growth, taking share from Premium Light, Premium Regular, and Import beer throughout the course of the year: Beer...
What Will Happen With Wine in 2014?
The buying and selling of wine has two long traditions behind it: on the one hand, it is a rough-and-tumble game of selling as much mediocre wine and sheer plonk as possible to a customer base that looks first and only at price; on the other hand, it has for a century...
Pennsylvania’s Liquor Privatization Movement
So will 2014 -- unlike 2013 and all the years before it -- be when Pennsylvania moves out of the liquor system? Depends who you ask. House Majority Leader Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, mentioned liquor privatization first among his caucus' priorities for the new year at a...
Lawmakers Push To Slash Beer Excise Taxes
Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, joined a growing chorus of lawmakers Friday in a bid to slash the national beer excise tax, a move that would reportedly increase beer demand and cause barley and hops sales to skyrocket. The Brewers Excise and Economic Relief Act, or BEER...
China to challenge Europe in wine export arena
Having faced ever-increasing competition from the New World for decades, the European wine sector will eventually have to battle with China in the international wine market, a new just-drinks report has warned. However, for the time being, according to the report,...