It's like ice cream without a cone.
Sounds scary to think of a world without the “middle tier” of the three-tiered alcohol industry. Many call it “the glue” of the American beverage alcohol market-based system, and without it, our country would be in a very scary place.
Without American wholesalers, incidents of consumers falling ill to tainted and counterfeit products causing blindness and death would permeate news headlines, as seen in many other countries.
Without American wholesalers, consumers would be limited in the choices they had at their favorite bars, restaurants, and stores, and markets would be dominated by monopolies and unfair market practices, thereby prohibiting craft brands from ever making it to market and limiting what is now a billion-dollar industry.
Without American wholesalers, wine and spirits suppliers and retailers would have to take on the estimated $6.8 billion in direct operating costs annually that come from wholesaler marketing and logistics support—a cost that would be passed onto consumers.
Without American wholesalers, the country would be without 88,000 jobs created by multigenerational family-owned and operated businesses that cannot be outsourced to other countries. These jobs pay a collective $7.5 billion in wages each year and employ people with a breadth of skills ranging from mixologists to mechanics to marketers.
Without American wholesalers, there would not be a centralized location to collect on one of the most taxed consumer goods! WSWA’s members help create the world’s most reliable and cost-effective system of revenue collection at the federal, state, and local levels.
