Market Watch, January 2020

24 MARKET WATCH MARKETWATCHMAG COM JANUARY FEBRUARY 2020For Michael and Harmon Skurnik wine was a part of daily life before they were even old enough to taste it legally The brothers who are now at the helm of New York City based distribution and import company Skurnik Wines Spirits were introduced to wine in the 1970s They recall family dinners where wine was an integral part of the meal long before it had a place on most American tables Fast forward several decades and the brothers have built a thriving business based upon their familys shared love of wine Michael who serves as CEO and Harmon the company president credit their mother Ruth with launching the fami lys love affair with wine When she and their father Nat returned to New York from a vacation in France in 1970 they built a wine cellar in the basement of their Long Island home stocking it with Bordeaux and Burgundy as well as wines from the Rhône Valley and Germany Michael and Harmon were teenagers at the time but it made an indelible mark They both went on to work at wine focused restaurant Windows on the World atop the World Trade Center and later opened their own distributorship to begin selling and importing wines We find and curate high quality wines at available prices from all regions of the world and bring them to market Michael says The company has grown way beyond what I thought or hoped for Harmon adds that the brothers shared experiences with wine at the dinner table created the corner stone of what Skurnik Wines Spirits is today We got this experience and this love of food and wine at a very young age he says Weve had healthy growth almost every year weve been in business Weve evolved from a New York distributor into a full service distributor in eight states and a national importer selling to distributors in all 50 states Were quite proud of what weve achieved Skurnik Wines Spirits has benefited from steady growth for more than 30 years Revenue topped 130 million in 2018 and was more than 145 million last year In all the company represents roughly 860 brands and moves about 800000 cases annually Wine makes up most of the inven tory totaling 716 brands and 715000 9 liter cases a year followed by spirits at 105 brands and 55000 cases and sake at 43 brands and 30000 cases Skurnik serves as a direct importer and distributor for 359 wine brands in its eight distribution markets and is the national importer for an additional 182 wines in states beyond its distribution foot print Furthermore the company distributes an additional 323 wines and spirits spanning domestic labels and products brought in by other importers Our fascination with the beverage industry and the passion we have for wine and spirits continues to grow and thats what drives us Michael says Harmon adds that wine continues to be the most significant part of the companys business Wine has always been the most important aspect of what we do and it remains that way even though spirits are our fastest growing segment he explains Wine is 87 of our revenue History In The MakingMichael started the eponymous distribution business in Septem ber 1987 and Harmon came on two years later The duo began their distributorship in New York with six California wine labels and domestic wines remain the largest chunk of the port folio by revenue They made a major investment in spirits about seven years ago and added sake three years ago Both segments are growing rapidly The Skurniks distribution footprint has expanded significantly in recent years as the company has added distributorships in four states since 2017 Skurnik Wines Spirits now has a distribution presence in New York New A familys love for wine has created a 30 year legacy of distribution and import excellence for the Skurnik brothersBY LAURA PELNER PHOTOGRAPHS BY DAVID YELLENPASSION PERFECTEDMW0120_