Family-owned liquor distributor battles with giants

Family-owned liquor wholesaler Major Brands is battling in federal and state court with giant liquor producers Diageo, Bacardi and Pernod Ricard over Missouri’s franchise laws,

the

Wall Street Journal

reported.

The laws, which date to the end of Prohibition and are in effect in about a dozen states, require liquor makers to exclusively use a specific wholesaler in that state.

The major liquor companies want to change Missouri’s law so they can consolidate their wholesalers to lower costs, the

Journal

report noted. “Missouri is a national test case for the future of the franchise system,” the article said.

Major Brands has annual revenues of $450 million and 700 employees, the

Journal

article said. The third-generation business leader, Todd Epsten, died last year. His widow, Sue McCollum, is now in charge. The company is being sued by Diageo — its most important supplier — and Bacardi in federal court; they are seeking to terminate their relationship with Major Brands. The wholesaler has countersued both companies and requested an injunction to prevent Diageo from cutting off its supplies, the article said.

Major Brands’ suit also names a multistate wholesaler, Glazer’s Distributors Inc., which has been negotiating with Diageo to take over Major Brands’ business, the

Journal

article said. (Source:

Wall Street Journal,

June 28, 2013.)