Crain's: WINE WAR Under lobbies' influence

My friends, is there no end to what the WIG interests will do to spread lies and deceipt?  This article, published by Crain's, is absolutely filled with threats and innuendo that attempt to silence a supplier partner through intimidation.

As if liquor stores need another reason to support Diagio and their brands?  I have long supported Diagio for thier reasonable quantity discount policy and for all the day-to-day things that they have done to add value to the products they sell.  I, for one, supported them fully before this WIG issue was forced upon the industry.  I have often held thier pricing and discount strategy out to competitive suppliers as a model for the industry to follow.  Diagio has many of the top Marques in the industry and yet they do not force 150 case investments on us retailers like their competitor's do.

Now, Diagio astutely sees the WIG initiative as a danger to their long built customer base here in NY.  They see it as destroying over a thousand liquor store customers and attacking the three tier system which has allowed them to be successful in New York.  They properly see this as bad for thier interests and survival in New York and they wish to contribute both money and moral support to our coalition as a way to protect thier company's customers and interests.  This is not an attempt to influence our purchasing.  What store can grow and prosper without the powerful brands that Diago brings to the market?

No, this is not a breach of any agreements, it is simply a constitutionally protected, and recently affirmed by the US Supreme Court, right of a corporation to act as any citizen would: to spend money to see that thier interests are heard in the realm of political ideas without restriction.  The Supreme court said that a corporation has the same rights as an individual citizen to have their say and let thier opinion be heard.  Who is the state of New York to limit this voice just because they disagree with the message of Diagio?

For shame on Assemblyman Kellner, for trying to bully the opposition into silence.  Well Assemblyman, this is America, and Diagio is a corporate citizen with every right to contribute money and support to any group that is fighting to protect common interests.  Don't abuse the power of your office to intimidate and silence voices you don't agree with.  It is quite a stretch to paint Diagiao's support of the Coalition as a marketing ploy!

The fact that they sell many products to the big box grocery stores not only in New York but across the entire nation shows how hollow this accusation is.  If Diagio was thinking only in terms of influencing sales it would be better for them to NOT support the coalition!  They have much more to lose in the short run by supporting us and alienating the big boys like Costco, Walgreens and 7-Eleven.  But they see this as a long-run issue, and wish to help stop what they see as a bad, three-tier system attack.

If Wegmans, Price Chopper and Wal-Mart can spend millions on lobbiests and consumer advertising why should Diagio be denied the same right.  This is not an issue of marketing influence.  It is an issue of political opinion.  Call off the intimidation tactics and let them protect their customers and long term corporate self interest.