THE CONCEPT OF EXCLUSIVITY

Being a “bridge” store, we get a lot of customers from across the river, and many of them forget that we are in a different state. It makes things complicated when you’re part of a greater metropolitan area, that’s for sure. But the differences between Ohio and Kentucky are pretty vast when talking wine. You see, Ohio is a control state, which proves very advantageous to consumers and retailers. Everyone has to be priced the same due to a state mandated minimum markup, so competition is preserved. A particular wine producer/importer/broker wouldn’t do themselves much good to work with only one retailer, unless production was so small that there isn’t enough to go around.

However, the concept of exclusivity is not uncommon here in Kentucky due to the lack of state minimum pricing and the long distances between wet and dry regions. I often find it amazing at how backward Kentucky is in comparison to the rest of the country. At least, the archaic liquor control landscape seems more prevalent when I stare at the Cincinnati skyline every day.
We’ve fought a lot of these importers for several years, mostly to no avail. Most of these importers specialize in French wines, and most of these importers don’t make market visits in KY. The issue is that most of these importers are not aware of how dramatically the market in KY has changed. More and more consumers have begun their wine journeys and have become much more knowledgeable about wine. And there are many more wine retailers than there were some 10, 15, 20 years ago, when there was only 1 or 2 players in the state.

Liquor Direct is still pretty young in the game, shifting our focus to wine only 6 or 7 years ago. It has become such a frustrating aspect of the business to have to tell customers “no” based upon the ridiculous concept of exclusivity. Importers like Robert Kacher, Kysela, and Ex Cellars, as well as producers like Graham Beck, Tamarack Cellars and Quilceda Creek are off limits to us due to old contracts that don’t really make a lot of sense from a consumer standpoint. Customers look at things geographically, and when they can get wines from these companies at any store near their neighborhoods they expect to find them here. They come here because our pricing is better than Ohio (Kentucky has no state required minimum markup). Yet when the customers get here, they find there is more than just a river separating us from them.
I’ve made a lot of phone calls, questioning a lot of these agreements, and pointing out the proximity to Cincinnati and the illogic of the situation, yet I’d say 99.9% of these individuals aren’t interested in changing. One producer in particular, Bridgeview, has two wines by the glass at a local restaurant chain that operates in two locations – one is just 5 miles to our north, in Cincinnati, and the other is only 2 miles to the south, in Kentucky. We get requests for this wine all the time, but the producer has an exclusive agreement with a store chain that is 100 miles away from us! Trying to make since of the situation, I asked the winemaker to help me understand why he wouldn’t sell to us. He simply said he was happy with his current arrangement.

One could argue that this is just sour grapes on my part. Yet I don’t have to waste my time and energy contacting these people and arguing my points. There is PLENTY of wine to sell that IS available to us, and there are a lot of importers who are more than HAPPY to work with us, so what is the point? Customer service, that is the point. If a customer wants it, we at Liquor Direct want to accommodate them, but things like exclusivity make it difficult.

I’d like to take the opportunity to thank just a few of the importers who we are proud to support: BANVILLE-JONES, WILLIAM-HARRISON, PALM BAY IMPORTS, VINEYARD BRANDS, MARC DE GRAZIA, TERRY THIESE SELECTIONS, RUDI WIEST, W.M. DEUTSCH, JORGE ORDONEZ, ERIC SOLOMON, QUALITY WINES OF SPAIN, GRAPE EXPECTATIONS, EPICUREAN WINES, THE GRATEFUL PALATE, VINTNER SELECT IMPORTS, CAPE CLASSICS, DOMAINE SELECT, PRESTIGE WINE IMPORTS, T.G.I.C. IMPORTERS, VINE CONNECTIONS, KERMIT LYNCH, FOSTERS WINE ESTATES, REMY AMERIQUE, TERLATO WINES INTERNATIONAL, JOHN GIVEN WINES, VINE STREET IMPORTS, BILLINGTON IMPORTS, and CLICK WINE GROUP.