EATERAZ Restaurant Week: Bob Smith
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Hey 944, we’re glad you folded. It gave us a chance to use these five profiles as EATERAZ content. Kidding! We miss you gang. But finishing up this week of interviews with people we feel are top influencers within the food and beverage industry, we turn to one of the people who truly places every decision in a framework of the bigger picture. Read below and you’ll learn about Bob Smith, someone who’s probably influenced what you’re going to have for happy hour tonight–and you didn’t even know he had a part in it.
By the way, it’s true–readers of EATERAZ are not getting a “Food Review Friday” today. We’ll be back at ya next week, promise.
When Bob Smith signs a deal to distribute a wine, beer, or spirit, it affects us all. From the distributor sales rep who’s got to move cases, to the bartender who has to make room for it, to you, who probably needs to try it. Smith is the President and CEO of Alliance Beverage Distributing Company, the largest liquor distributor in Arizona. Bacardi rum, Jack Daniel’s whiskey, Finlandia vodka, Samuel Adams, Sierra Nevada, Four Peaks … heck, even Beringer wines. These are alcoholic beverages that Alliance Beverage makes sure you have easy access to. Smith operates in a stratosphere miles ahead of the curve, affecting what we drink (and what advertising we see) much further down the road. Even though Smith has the true 40,000-foot view of the liquor business as a whole, he’s one of those rare CEOs that can be seen walking the warehouse floor, asking workers about wives and kids, strengthening relationships on every level. Case in point: read the Ketel One story below. When the brand launched, there was more at play than a couple catchy print ads – it was people like Smith changing the entire food and beverage culture, all with the help of a little thing called trust.
What trends are you seeing in the liquor industry right now?
A lot of consolidation. Most states will soon only have two major wholesalers in their market. But bigger doesn’t mean better, it simply puts more pressure on those of us left to more adequately service bars, restaurants, and retailers. Consolidation on the retail level is happening as well, with major grocery, drug, and club chains making the smaller “mom and pop” operators less relevant. Places like BevMo and Total Wine put stress on the little guy. But there’s a re-emergence of the “neighborhood locally owned restaurant” because more people want to dine closer to home. And with strict DUI laws at play, our local restaurants and bars will continue to thrive. These smaller restaurants are mostly responsible for innovation in our industry.
What’s next for the beverage industry?
Recovery. Because Arizona has relied on our housing and resort industry as engines for growth, we need to see those pieces of our economy recover quickly for overall stability.
Why don’t certain liquor brands catch on?
If I knew the answer to that question, we wouldn’t be sitting with all the ‘Introductory Close-out’ items we have in inventory. We’re living in a time when our big suppliers are throwing anything they can think of against the wall to see what sticks. Sometimes a new product comes with a really well conceived plan, but sometimes, the introduction lacks the tools and support needed to gain traction.
The real key to launching a new brand has been the same in our business for as long as I have been in it. (And that’s a long time!). That key is ‘the bartender.’ The bartender is the person who becomes the advocate for a brand, the one who ‘tells the story,’ and explains why they like it. Just look at Kettle One Vodka. From day one, it was the bartender’s vodka, and the company focused 100-percent of their effort and resources towards supporting the bartender, the real brand ambassador. When we started with the brand, Ketel wanted our input and gave us freedom to develop a strategy with our local market. The core of the plan was to build on our relationships. That’s what made this all work. Ketel One and us, us and the bartender, the bartender and the consumer … At all three of these levels trust was given, and the brand is still successful today because of that strong fabric of support. It’s moments like these when you know that you have been part of something really cool and important. That’s what makes this industry great … and why, in my over 40 years in this business, I have never dreaded going to work. It’s about relationships.
That, and looking for that next Kettle One…
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