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Policies & Announcements

Below you’ll find a chronological list of our important policy announcements. Please check this page often to remain current and feel free to call customer service with any questions.

Announcements:

William Grant & Sons USA and Empire Merchants Continue Their Six Decades of Partnership


March 1, 2023 – Today, William Grant & Sons USA, Empire Merchants and Empire Merchants North announce the signing of a new agreement that furthers their six decades of unrivaled collaboration in the New York market. The five-year extension marks the commitment of the two companies to build on their impressive partnership in one of the most important luxury spirits markets in the US.

William Grant & Sons USA and Empire Merchants have been working together since the 1960s in a partnership that has weathered massive economic, social, political and cultural changes, requiring consistent agility, long-term focus and commitment to mutual support.

Eric Pfeil, President and CEO, Empire Merchants said, “We’re thrilled to continue to be selected as William Grant & Sons’ distributor of choice in New York State. Our ongoing representation of their outstanding portfolio of premium and luxury brands will provide us the opportunity to widen our distribution within key retail partners, further cementing our commitment to the on-premise and beyond. “The foundation between William Grant & Sons and Empire Merchants has been set through solid relationships established across both teams for decades. Both organizations will continue to work closely on brand growth and innovation plans, on-premise prioritization and distribution.”

Paul Basford, President and Managing Director, William Grant & Sons USA, commented, “Empire remains one of our longest-standing and loyal distributor partners and I’m thrilled to be able to continue to build on this legacy with a great trusted partner.
“From Brooklyn to Buffalo and everywhere in between, the full team at Empire has consistently championed our portfolio of award-winning brands. They have improved distribution year over year through their nearly 10,000 partner retail outlets while prioritizing our business drivers including the development of our luxury agenda and route-to-consumer strategy.”

About William Grant & Sons William Grant & Sons Holdings Ltd. is an independent family-owned distiller headquartered in the United Kingdom and founded by William Grant in 1887. Today, the global premium spirits company is run by the fifth generation of his family and distills some of the world’s leading brands of Scotch whisky, including Glenfiddich®, The Balvenie® range of handcrafted single malts and the world’s third largest blended Scotch, Grant’s®, as well as other iconic spirits brands such as Hendrick’s® Gin, Sailor Jerry® Spiced Rum, Tullamore D.E.W.® Irish Whiskey, Monkey Shoulder® Blended Malt Scotch Whisky and Drambuie® Scotch Liqueur.

Founded in 1964, William Grant & Sons USA is a wholly-owned subsidiary of William Grant & Sons, Ltd. and features one of the fastest growing spirits portfolios in the US with brands including Glenfiddich, The Balvenie, Hendrick’s Gin, Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum, Tullamore D.E.W. Irish Whiskey, Drambuie, Milagro Tequila, Fistful of Bourbon, Grant’s, Hudson Whiskey, Gibson’s Finest, Monkey Shoulder, Clan MacGregor, Reyka Vodka, Solerno Blood Orange Liqueur, The Knot and Raynal French Brandy. For more information on the company and its brands, please visit @williamgrantusa on Instagram or Facebook or www.williamgrantusa.com.

About Empire Merchants Proudly building on decades of experience covering all of New York State, Empire Merchants and Empire Merchants North were formed in February 2007 resulting in two of New York’s premier wine and spirits distributors. With state-of-the-art facilities and a dedicated team of over 2,000 knowledgeable and well-equipped employees, Empire Merchants and Empire Merchants North have become synonymous with both service and quality, earning the loyalty of over 18,000 restaurants, bars, hotels, nightclubs and retail outlets.


Empire 360 Launch


Empire360, a 360-Degree Approach to Beverage Alcohol B2B E-Commerce
New York, New York, May 31, 2022 — Empire Merchants and Empire Merchants North launch Empire360, the industry-leading beverage alcohol B2B digital sales solution.
Empire Merchants and Empire Merchants North, New York State’s premier wine and spirits distributors, collaborate with City Hive Inc.’s platform to launch Empire360: a cutting-edge business-to-business digital sales platform. This innovative digital solution provides a powerful new channel by connecting Empire’s customers to the brands they represent. Empire360 unlocks self-service features, enabling both on- and off-premise customers to manage their businesses with increased speed, efficiency, and transparency. This customer-centric platform offers 24-hour online ordering, product discovery and account management services.

Empire360 paves the way for Empire Merchants to lead the industry in beverage alcohol E-Commerce. Key features of Empire360 include product discovery; advanced assortment views; robust combo offerings; and transparent pricing displays. Empire’s vision is that customers will leverage Empire360 to streamline ordering and inventory management while removing the burden associated with payment and invoice processing. This will free up their salesforce to do what they do best – customer consultation and insight driven storytelling.

Eric Pfeil, President and CEO of Empire Merchants and Empire Merchants North, said during a recent internal training, “Empire continues to create industry standards that set us apart. Our sales teams and managers have always been the key to our success and will continue to be essential as we build an ultra-modern sales operation. Empire360 will provide our customers with ‘best-in-class’ tools so our team can focus on sales consultation and ease the friction associated with order taking. We believe that this platform and our overall digital strategy will offer our customers and suppliers even more robust resources to manage their businesses and strengthen their relationship with Empire.” Pfeil adds, “This is only the beginning: Empire’s leadership and team, alongside our partners, are committed to innovating and leading on the digital front.” Empire will continue to accept orders through marketplaces as part of their comprehensive approach to E-Commerce.

Empire Merchants and Empire Merchants North partnered with City Hive Inc. to develop its online sales platform. City Hive Inc. is the leading beverage alcohol focused technology company and powers more than 3,000 retail partners reaching over 950 cities in forty states. Empire Merchants has established a seasoned internal E-Commerce team to bring this industry-leading platform to market with City Hive and has conducted in depth market research in the design and testing phases of Empire360. “Empire Merchants was the first to believe in our vision of Consumerization of B2B, allowing us to provide a technology service for every stakeholder within the beverage alcohol three-tier industry,” said Roi Kliper, CEO of City Hive.

About Empire Merchants: empiremerchants.com, empirenorth.com
Proudly building on decades of experience covering all of New York State, Empire Merchants and Empire Merchants North were formed in February 2007 resulting in two of New York’s premier wine and spirits distributors. With state-of-the-art facilities and a dedicated team of over 2,000 knowledgeable and well-equipped employees, Empire Merchants and Empire Merchants North have become synonymous with both service and quality, earning the loyalty of over 18,000 restaurants, bars, hotels, nightclubs and retail outlets.

About City Hive – cityhive.net

City Hive is an omni-channel digital commerce and data SaaS platform for wine, beer and liquor retailers, suppliers and distributors. A single e-commerce solution specializing in the beverage alcohol businesses, City Hive empowers licensed retailers with B2C online ordering, marketing, inventory management and data analytics partnering with over 3,000 beverage alcohol retailers in 950 cities. Founded in 2016, City Hive, Inc. is a privately-owned company and headquartered in New York City.