Market Watch, January 2020
44 MARKET WATCH MARKETWATCHMAG COM JANUARY FEBRUARY 2020Beverage retailing in the state of Indiana requires maneuvering around a thicket of regulations and laws apt to drive free traders crazy You cant ship products out of state and you cant ship products in state either unless you use a third party service like Drizly You can use your own vehicles to ship to nearby communities but you cant use FedEx or UPS at all An application for a liquor license requires a long in state residency keeping big chains like Binnys Beverage Depot and Total Wine More out of the market And many municipalities have tight caps on the number of retail alcohol permits they issue which has led to some permits being sold for 400000 or more on the open market Sunday sales werent allowed in Indiana until early 2017 and grocery stores can only sell their beer warm Indiana merchants have long since adapted to this litany of restrictions and endorse the status quo But one retailer Cap n Cork in Fort Wayne is working by itself to undo at least some of the rules The 15 unit chain has lodged lawsuits in both Michigan and Illinois to earn the right to ship freely into those jurisdictions and is considering challenges to more anti shipping laws in other states Cap n Cork is co owned and managed by brothers in law Andy Lebamoff and Joe Doust Jr with Lebamoff serving as pres ident and Doust as vice president and secretary Both became Market Watch Leaders back in 2001 and received the Best Merchandising award in 2015 For years Cap n Cork had a reputation for acquiring mom and pop rivals around Fort Wayne and building its revenue stream in the process But expansion has come to a virtual halt since 2015 as permit trading has waned Today Lebamoff and Doust have decided that if theyre to continue growing theyll have to cross state borders through e commerce Wineries in California and elsewhere can ship into Indi ana via FedEx and compete against us says Doust But by state law we cant use FedEx at all and so were at a disad vantage We favor laws that are fair and equitable for every body We arent scared of competition Indiana retailer Cap n Cork looks to expand into new states through online salesBY H LEE MURPHY PHOTOGRAPHS BY DUSTIN MCKIBBENJumping BordersFort Wayne Indianas Cap n Cork Maysville Pointe unit pictured has lodged lawsuits in Michigan and Illinois to earn the right to ship freely into those jurisdictions and co owners Andy Lebamoff and Joe Doust Jr are considering challenges to anti shipping laws in other states OppOsite page frOm left Cap n Cork vice president and secre tary Joe Doust Jr marketing director Rachel Burkholder beer buyer Brent Parker and president Andrew Lebamoff are seeing over all success in Fort Wayne sales rose 4 in 2018 to 28 million
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