Earlier this year Liberation Distribution (LibDib), a web-based
alcohol distribution platform, made its debut in New York and
California picking up around 150 suppliers in the ?rst ?ve months
of existence [see WSD 03?22?2017]. At our inaugural Distributor
Productivity Summit earlier this month, founder and ceo Cheryl
Durzy shared how LibDib ?ts into the current distributor map and
the different models it might employ to expand.
Although the company has a traditional distributor license (without
the warehouses and trucks) Cheryl imagines LibDib as more of an
incubator for small brands, giving them a chance at distribution
before they’ve built up enough business for a larger distributor to
take on.
LibDib is a stand alone operation in California and New York where
self?distribution is legal, but Cheryl said they are considering
partnerships with other distributors as the concept continues to
grow. Partnerships could potentially allow LibDib the use of an
existing warehouse space-?which they need to meet the
requirements of at-rest laws in some states-?while providing larger
distributors a pipeline for up?and-coming brands.
Right now, LibDib suppliers go through third-party logistics
companies to ?ll orders, but Cheryl said it would be “faster and
easier with distributor partners.” LibDib does not require a contract
or exclusivity, so a supplier could use both LibDib and their
traditional distributor network simultaneously if the traditional
distributor permitted.
She theorizes that it could be “a way for a supplier to be able to sell
all of their products when other distributors only want a few
[SKUs] from their portfolio.”
LibDib has already applied for a distributor’s license in Wisconsin,
and is working to break into Florida, DC and New Jersey in the next
six months, which she says will “depend a lot on the partnerships.”
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