January 13, 2020 PARTNER ANNOUNCEMENT
Select Wine Merchants announced today that an agreement has been reached to purchase 100% ownership of Lifford Wine & Spirits. As a wholly owned subsidiary of Select Wines, Lifford will continue to operate as a separate wine agency with its own field sales team focused on the on-trade and direct to consumer channels. The objective of this transaction is to accelerate Lifford’s growth while increasing Select Wines’ distribution to Ontario restaurants and consumers.
Commenting on the acquisition, Lifford’s President, Steven Campbell said “This is an important milestone for Lifford. Select Wines is an established national agency with strong values, proven leadership and performance. By partnering with Select Wines, Lifford’s brands will benefit from their competency in markets beyond Ontario. At the same time, Select Wines’ partners now have the opportunity to capitalize on Lifford’s strength, as Ontario’s leading on-trade distributor. As we continue to see rapid marketplace evolution, we felt the timing was right to make a major move that best serves the needs of our customers, our people, and our partners.”
Select Wines was established as a Vancouver based boutique wine agency in 1982. Today, Select is a management owned and operated national wine agency with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax. Driving sales growth that significantly exceeds industry trends, Select has a relentless focus on performance and deepening customer relationships in all markets and segments. Select’s CEO Chris Hoffmeister said “I am very enthusiastic to be working with Steven and his team who have done a tremendous job of building equity in the highest value trade channels. Our company was founded on selling fine wines to fine dining establishments. Providing best in class service to this channel is at the heart of our priorities. With the acquisition of Lifford, who I consider as the top on-trade distributor in Ontario, Select now offers one of the most robust and diverse distribution networks available in Canada.”