National Wine & Spirits

With corporate headquarters in Indianapolis, National Wine & Spirits, Inc. (NWS) is a privately owned distributor of wine and spirits, one of the largest in the United States. Serving the Midwest, it is the largest distributor of spirits in Indiana, with a 54 percent market share, and in Michigan, with a 52 percent market share. The company's 30 percent market share in Illinois makes it one of the largest distributors in that state as well. NWS also owns a 25 percent stake in Commonwealth Wine & Spirits, a Kentucky distributor with a 36 percent market share for wine and spirits. NWS is a holding company, its operations conducted through several wholly owned subsidiaries, including National Wine & Spirits Corp. in Indiana; Union Beverage Company, Hamburg Distributing Company and Chicago Wine Merchants in Illinois; and NWS Michigan, Inc. in Michigan. NWS also owns United States Beverage, a national broker of malt-based products. To service its markets, NWS maintains seven distribution centers, five cross-docking facilities, and a fleet of more than 300 delivery trucks. Customers are categorized as either off-premise or on-premise, according to where the products are consumed. Off-premise customers are package liquor stores, grocery stores, mass merchandisers, and drugstores, while on-premise customers include bars, restaurants, and hotels. NWS features many well known brands of spirits, such as Absolut, Chivas Regal, Jim Beam, and Smirnoff. Depending on the market state, the company is the exclusive distributor of spirits for suppliers such as Diageo (Guinness/UDV), Fortune Brands (in all four states), Allied Domecq, and Pernod Ricard. In Indiana and Illinois NWS is the exclusive distributor of such top wineries as Kendall Jackson and Banfi Vintners, as well as many offerings from Canandaigua Wine Company (Constellation Brands), the country's second largest wine supplier. In certain markets NWS also distributes premium cigars to augment its fine wines and spirits business.