Breakthru Beverage, which was formed after Wirtz Beverage Group and Charmer Sunbelt Group merged last October, yesterday announced that it had acquired Alliance Beverage Distributing Company in Arizona.
The company, which has been renamed Breakthru Beverage Arizona, will maintain its operations and warehouses in Phoenix, Tucson and Flagstaff, and retain its 550 employees, according to a press release.
Wirtz Beverage Group already owned a 50 percent stake in the Alliance Arizona but the other 50 percent had been owned by competitor Glazer’s Inc., which recently completed its own merger with Southern Wine & Spirits. As part of that combination, Glazer’s agreed to divest its interest in Alliance Arizona and, in exchange, purchased Wirtz Beverage’s interest in Alliance’s operations in Mississippi and Alabama.
“We are excited to welcome the Arizona team to the Breakthru Family and build on the great work they do with bars, restaurants and retail customers through the state,” Breakthru Beverage President & CEO Greg Baird said via a release. “We are committed to maintaining the excellent service that our partners have come to rely on in all of our markets.”
Led by current Alliance Beverage executive vice president Gary Lederer, the Arizona branch sells a portfolio consisting primarily of wine and spirits brands. Although Breakthru Beverage deals mostly in the wine and spirits sectors, it does sell beer in places like Illinois, Nevada, Minnesota, Colorado and Wisconsin.
According to its website, Breakthru Beverage currently operates in 14 total markets — Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, Wisconsin and Washington D.C.
The company also currently employs more than 7,000 “associates,” according to a press release.