Winery: Hersly Wines
Location: Napa, CA
Production: 400-500 Cases
LibDib Markets: Florida, New York
Hersly Wines is a small family owned and operated business that is run by a husband and wife team, Adam and Stacy Hersly. Given increased distributor challenges, in mid-2018 the winery needed to look at other options to continue visibility and grow their brand in current and new markets. Adam and Stacy felt it was imperative to continue their relationships to sell their wines to high-end restaurants and wine shops to keep their business viable. Both owners had full-time day jobs, were working the market in their spare time, and didn?t have the time to run after their distributor.?
As native New Yorkers, they have a number of high-end placements in the market.? They worked the NY market every 6-8 weeks. They did everything a small winery should do to be successful.?
However, at the time the Herslys were working with a New York distributor who owed them a significant amount of money and was not paying. In addition, the distributor wouldn?t deliver their product to accounts, despite the orders coming in.?
Their small winery distribution was suffering and the Herslys felt helpless in their quest to continue distribution and grow a successful wine business.?
In August 2018 they were introduced to LibDib by a current customer account and signed up online for wholesale distribution in New York. Sixty days later, a high-end steakhouse received their first case of 2016 Pinot Noir through LibDib. Immediately, they loved the control they had over their brand with the LibDib platform. The Herslys appreciated that they could continue to own their direct relationships with accounts and that they could further build their account list utilizing LibDib as the distributor. They worked the market and submitted orders to LibDib via the platform. LibDib made delivery easy, paid the Herslys on time, and gave them the freedom to sell.
Stacy says: ?We literally would not have the business we have today without LibDib. We possibly could have gone out of business, but definitely would not have been able to grow. Distribution is our lifeline to new customers and LibDib has been our saving grace.??
Today, Hersly Wines generates 15% of annual revenue with LibDib in New York. In the coming year, they plan to grow their B2B sales to 30-40% total sales as they?ve found that DTC sales can only take them so far. They recently started selling wine in Florida via LibDib, with the hope of eventually expanding to other markets.? Given the current production levels, they feel the winery can be successful with a heavy focus and investment in key states.???
The Herslys add that LibDib is a distributor who supports small businesses. Margins are about half of the traditional distributor and the winery can invest in account relationships vs. distributor push. They appreciate the digital tools LibDib provides to Makers, especially? the ability to submit orders online from the field.
?LibDib?s process allows me to submit an order right then and there when I?m meeting with the account. This has been super helpful and has allowed us to be incredibly successful in the market,? said Adam Hersly.
?LibDib is a distributor who looks after the small guys. It?s women-owned and their team is amazing. They have been a true partner to us,? adds Stacy.
For more information on Hersly Wines visit their website at http://www.herslywines.com.