Young's Market Company L.L.C.

Importer
2164 N Batavia St., Orange, CA 92865-3104, United States
(800)317-6150, (714)283-4933, (714)283-6175 fax, http://www.youngsmarket.com

Primary SIC: Wines And Distilled Beverages, Primary NAICS: Wine and Distilled Alcoholic Beverage Merchant Wholesalers
Description: Wholesale: Beer, wine, and distilled spirits. More

Young's Market Co. is the third-largest distributor of beer, wine and distilled spirits in the United States. It is a major supplier in Los Angeles and the surrounding area and operates in Hawaii through the subsidiary, Better Brands. The company was founded in 1888 by John G. Young as a meat concession stand. In 1906, he was joined by his brothers to incorporate Young's Market Co.. In 1910 they established their first manufacturing plant to prepare mayonnaise, salad dressings, and sausage products and corned beef. During the following decade, the company expanded to sixty stores serving the California area. It wasn't until 1933 and the end of Federal Prohibition that the Young brothers became more involved with the marketing of wine and spirits. When they acquired a Dr. Pepper franchise and opened a bottling plant in 1940, they decided to discontinue all retail operations to pursue full time wholesale operations of wine, spirits and foods. In the years that followed, Young's successfully acquired two wholesale liquor firms located in Hawaii, the Buena Vista Winery in Sonoma, California and were constructing new winery locations in the Napa-Sonoma valleys. The alliance with Sunbelt Beverage Corporation in 1997 formed the largest distribution network in America with more than 5,000 employees. Results for fiscal year ended February 1999 report sales of $,090.0 million, representing an increase of 9.0 percent over the previous year's sales. Top competitors include Liquid Investments, National Distributing and Southern Wine & Spirits.