TOP 5 RETAILERS
# 3 RETAILER :
Liquor Barn & Party Mart
Headquarters : Louisville , KY Founded : 1988 # of Locations : 17 Average Size : 15,000-30,000 square feet
LIQUOR BARN ’ S FLAGSHIP store in Lexington is 40,000 square feet and includes rare wine , hard-to-find spirits , a growler bar , full deli and exotic food selection . The company calls its bourbon and whiskey collection among the finest in the U . S . ( and perhaps the world ).
Blue Equity , which owns both brands , acquired the Liquor Barn stores from Canadian-based Liquor Stores N . A ., a publicly traded company , less than two years ago . Since then , the company has built a management team from scratch . Accomplishments from the past year are numerous , including conversion to a new point-of-sale system , centralizing buying , seven-figure capital expenditure improvements , resetting stores and moving into cigar retailing .
Perhaps most impressive is the company ’ s proprietary app , created to facilitate a delivery option for customers .
The company ’ s sales mix is 45 % spirits , 35 % wine and 15 % beer , with 5 % coming from non-alcohol products .
What sets Liquor Barn and Party Mart stores apart in a competitive market like Kentucky ? “ Being first-to-market for delivery in the state , first with a proprietary app , having the finest bourbon allocations in the nation and a top customer experience .”
Liquor Barn was previously listed among the Beverage Dynamics Retailers of the Year in 2018 .
READ MORE :
A full profile of Liquor Barn is available in the March / April 2018 issue of Beverage Dynamics , which can be found at BeverageDynamics . com / digital-archives .
READ MORE : A full profile of Macadoodles is available in the January / February 2018 issue of Beverage Dynamics , which can be found at BeverageDynamics . com / digital-archives .
# 4 RETAILER :
Macadoodles
Headquarters : Pineville , MO Founded : 1997 # of Locations : 9 Average Size : 10,000 square feet
MACADOODLES FOUNDER Roger Gildehaus spent many years working at Walmart , interacting directly with Sam Walton on many occasions . He utilized the lessons he learned when creating Macadoodles , which has a flagship store of 13,000 square feet with 4,700 dedicated to wine . The stores are designed with a rustic , wood-construction charm , including open tresses and a wood floor interior . The company is currently undergoing a complete redesign of its website and installing a cloud-based point-of-sale system that will interact with its electronic shelf labels ( ESLs ). Gildehaus spoke about that project , and the importance overall of investing in technology , during a panel discussion at the 2019 Beverage Alcohol Retailers Conference .
Macadoodles ’ sales mix is 27 % spirits , 15 % beer , 14 % wine and an impressive 44 % for non-alcohol products ( Missouri law has few restrictions on what can be sold in-store ).
What sets Macadoodles apart ? “ Superior customer service , competitive pricing , knowledgeable sales staff and having the best selection of any store in the area .”
12 Beverage Dynamics • Top 100 Supplement www . beveragedynamics . com