Distribution
Direct-to-Retail Sales
In select U.S. markets (FL, NY, NJ, CA), Park Street provides a route-to-market directly to retailers, including restaurants, bars, liquor stores, big-box chains, and more. This distribution model is attractive to both established and emerging brands. It allows established brands to lower costs by leveraging the wholesale clearing model and enables emerging brands to enter new markets quickly and inexpensively in order to demonstrate initial market traction (i.e., test market campaign) before scaling production volumes and sales and marketing operations. Brand owners also utilize Park Street’s distribution capabilities to sell additional products not supported by their traditional distributor (i.e., supplementary distribution).
National Distribution
Park Street maintains all applicable federal and state licenses required to sell alcoholic beverages to authorized distributors or state alcohol beverage control boards in each of the 50 states in the U.S. and the District of Columbia. The company manages all aspects of the process from regulatory compliance and logistics to accounting and customer service.
Alcoholic Beverage Distribution Services
Park Street is one of the most well-known distributors of alcohol within the United States. Our industry leading distribution services currently service thousands of wine, spirits, and beer suppliers worldwide. Whether you’re looking for beverage distribution services at the local or national level, we’re here to help. Whether you’re a newly established brand or a well-known brand within the industry, Park Street can help through our national distribution service channel as well as our direct to retail distribution network within key markets within the United States.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below you will find a number of questions and answers related to Park Street services. Please feel free to reach out to us for more information by filling out the form located below.
What types of beverage distribution networks do you support (on-premise, off-premise, national, regional)?
Park Street can supply on- and off-premise retail accounts in New York, New Jersey, California, and Florida. This includes national and regional retailers that are “big box”. The company can supply wholesalers/distributors in all 50 states with wine, spirits, and non-alcoholic beverages.
How do you negotiate and structure distribution agreements with wholesalers?
Park Street isn’t involved in negotiating distribution agreements. Suppliers manage that between themselves and their distributor partners.
How are terms, pricing, and margins handled between brand, distributor, and retailer?
Each tier ultimately has the authority to determine what price they sell products for, thus increasing or decreasing their margin. Suppliers and distributors normally negotiate this when they enter into a distribution agreement. However, the typical margin from tier to tier is anywhere from 25-35%.
How do you manage compliance and licensing requirements in distribution (ship-to state rules, direct ship laws, etc.)?
Park Street has both state and federal compliance teams that evaluate pertinent laws and regulations while maintaining its license infrastructure. We provide this information by way of the Park Street Navigator platform.
How do you ensure consistent supply chain logistics and fulfillment coordination?
Suppliers have access to Park Street’s international and domestic freight teams to help source shipping quotes and manage the entire process, including pick up, EU/ UK/ US customs clearance, and delivery. Standard operating procedures (SOPs) and systems are heavily utilized to streamline processes and minimize errors.
How do you handle returns, breakage, and secondary market issues in distribution?
This varies based on a few factors, typically based on the warehouses’ policies as there are 7 US warehouses and 2 European warehouses with whom we work. Generally speaking, there will be a due diligence process conducted by the warehouse and shared with the supplier to determine whether the product issue was a result of the producer and/or shipper or the warehouse and then proceed from there.
Do you provide dashboards or analytics on velocity, sell-in/sell-through, and distributor performance?
Navigator, Park Street’s proprietary cloud-native software platform, provides real-time reporting on sales and individual SKU performance, along with a host of other reporting modules. The company does not provide reports on 3rd party distributors’ performance since that data is not commonly shared directly with Park Street. However, many of the existing reports can assist suppliers in making educated decisions regarding their distributor(s)’ performance.
How do you support distribution for limited releases, seasonal products, or small-lot runs?
It’s as simple as registering the new products in Navigator and having those products go through the same regulatory approvals as standard products. Once in the system, we use operational mechanisms, such as allotments in inventory, clear communication with the Park Street relationship manager, and thorough reviews to ensure proper distribution.
Can you help brands transition from self-distribution to a distributor model?
While Park Street doesn’t secure typical distribution, we often hear from suppliers that this is a common trajectory from self to traditional distribution. With the ability to test the market and develop a proof of concept, coupled with feeling comfortable that a supplier will invoice on time and the existing working relationship, securing other distributors as a next step holds less barriers than it oftentimes would outside of the Park Street relationship.
What role does technology (e.g. tracking, reporting) play in your distribution services?
Technology plays a huge role. Park Street is a very tech-driven company. Its proprietary system, Navigator, provides suppliers with real-time insight into federal compliance filings, state compliance filings, inventory, inventory in control state bailment facilities, sales order statuses from retailers and distributors, accounts receivable, accounts payable, chargebacks, and more.
Can you coordinate logistics and warehousing in distribution alongside your service?
Park Street handles logistics and warehousing as it relates to distribution, specifically the storing of goods through our 3PL warehouse providers, physical delivery of goods to retailers, invoicing, collections, and remittance of funds back to the supplier.
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