2022 RETAILER OF THE YEAR
Gary ' s Wine & Marketplace in Wayne , NJ , serves as example of the immense selection found at this industry-leading , independent , beverage alcohol retail chain .
straps of being a retailer . Mike says that I close my eyes and push forward based on my instincts .
Mike has taken everything to the next level . He is understating how much he has accomplished . Most recently , in HR . The technology he has brought into our HR department allows me to have a retailer focus while making sure that someone else is focused on the nitty gritty of how checks are written , or how employees are talked to by HR . MF : Other tech efficiencies include how we respond to customer reviews online , or people asking for donations . We ’ re created processes for using low-code or no-code tech . You don ’ t need a big ERP . Programs like Airtable and Zapier are able to create processes like those that larger companies build in-house . With new technologies , it ’ s so easy to create these processes yourself . Stuff like sending automatic emails and responses . There ’ s fewer back-and-forth emails . Everything is now in one place , and a bit more organized , a bit more optimized . That all counts ; it compounds over time . Now we ’ re able to take on more things and execute better for the customer . And that ’ s the most important part . GF : What Mike has allowed us to do is look forward . What other opportunities are there for Gary ’ s Wine & Marketplace ? Without him , we were like a running back , just trying to look ahead as we go forward . Now we ’ re like a quarterback , looking down the field at all the different opportunities .
BD : Gary , what have you learned from 14 years in the Wine & Spirits Guild , including time as president ? GF : The guild is a group of independent , family-owned , multi-generational retailers . In any given market , you will have your big guys like Walmart and Costco come in and dominate . But you still need that independent retailer who ’ s community-driven . Retailers who contribute to local charities , who are living and working in your neighborhood .
We ’ re always working with the guild on new opportunities and best practices . We ask each other : What technologies are you using ? What are your pay rates ? How ’ s hiring ? What ’ s your competition look like ? There ’ s opportunity to have really open dialogue with other independent retailers .
The guild allows us to find , taste and bring into our stores wines that would not normally be available to us . As a company our size , we can ’ t buy enough to get the excitement of a bigger company . Working with the guild , we are able to source some great wines at much-better pricing . We get a better selection of directly sourced product , which saves our customers a lot of money with great value .
BD : We imagine your Napa store , opened in 2019 , has accomplished similar things ? GF : That store allowed us to go from a regional New Jersey operator to a national chain . What happens in Napa cannot happen anywhere else . Every day , winemakers stop in our store for lunch . It ’ s allowed us to have such close relationships with the winemaking community . We can keep our pulse on the wine business in a much better way .
We ’ re working with the guild to bring some of these opportunities to other guild members . It ’ s a win-win . Many Napa wineries only make 300-400 cases per year . They ’ re not looking for national distribution . With our Napa store , we can get these wines without going through the whole process . It ’ s taken what we ’ re doing in New Jersey and put it on steroids . BD
This interview was edited and condensed for publication .
12 Beverage Dynamics • June 2022 www . beveragedynamics . com