just the Facts – Foster’s Group’s US wine overhaul

Foster’s Group has today (21 June) completed its distribution changes in the US. Here, just-drinks rounds up the changes the firm has made to its Foster’s Wine Estate Americas operations since beginning a restructure of its wine arm in early-2009.

• Foster’s rounded off its distribution changes today with three five-year, exclusive deals with Southern Wine & Spirits, covering the key states of Florida, California and Illinois.
• Last week, Foster’s Wine Estates renewed a distribution deal with Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC) in Colorado.
• Earlier this month, Foster’s announced a new executive team to lead distribution and off-trade accounts in the country.
• A month ago, Foster’s signed exclusive, “long-term” distribution agreements with The Charmer Sunbelt Group to sell its portfolio of wines in New York, Maryland and the District of Columbia. In New York, Charmer Sunbelt will pick up the Etude brand from Skurnick, while in Washington DC it will pick up a portion of Foster’s portfolio from RNDC.
  
• Also in May, Foster’s Wine Estates appointed master sommelier Fred Dame as its vice president of luxury sales.
• Back in April, Foster’s appointed the ex-head of Constellation Wines in Australia, John Grant, as vice president of its California wine division.
• In September 2009, Foster’s declined to comment on a claim, made by a source to just-drinks, that the firm would not pay bonuses to its Americas wine sales staff for its most recent full-year.
• In August 2009, Foster’s appointed Mike Holden as senior vice president of sales at Foster’s Wine Estates Americas. Holden was previously president and COO at Don Sebastiani & Sons.
• Less than a month earlier, the group appointed Francesca Schuler as its chief marketing officer.

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