Professional Biography of Henry J Nunez
The success I have enjoyed in this industry directly relates to the great businessmen I have worked for and have learned from.
I have spent my entire life in and around the alcoholic beverage business. My father owned taverns and retail liquor shops as far back as I can remember. I have lived and breathed "the store" for my entire life.
After college, I began a "temporary" stint at my father's two retail shops while looking for a teaching position. One month stretched into 1-½ years when the urge for something new became impossible to ignore.
On to New York and the world famous Sherry Lehmann wine shop on Madison Ave. I was lucky enough to land a job at the age of 23 as the day-to-day replenishment buyer and inventory & pricing control manager. I had the great opportunity to work with the legendary owner, Sam Aaron. Sam was the greatest retail innovator in the wine industry. I received first-class training in ROP advertising with the NY Times, negotiating with vendors, preparing catalogs (of which we were the first wine shop in the country to sell by catalog) and developing long-term strategies in such areas as Bordeaux futures. We introduced such renowned brands (Duboeuf Beaujolais, La Vielle Ferme Rhone and many more) to the U.S.
The environment at Sherry's exuded wine. Conversation among the staff in the fall season was not about the World Series or the pennant race, but rather if was raining in Bordeaux during the crush. Learning the game through this type of assimilation was the strongest form of education I could have ever received. I have since received my Advanced certificate towards my goal in achieving my Master of Wine degree in 1994.
After Sherry's, I returned to NJ to partner with my brother in a series of single and multi-unit retail shops.
In the mid 80's, the concept of "food & wine" was becoming more and more prevalent in the wine industry. I targeted Kings Super Markets as a possible partner and in 1986 crafted an arrangement with the then owner, Allen Bildner, to become the wine & spirits concession in his Summit and West Caldwell supermarkets. At the eleventh hour before signing the contracts, John Packard, the owner of the license I was to acquire in West Caldwell, backed out of the deal and in doing so killed the entire project.
In 1988, Allen Bildner called me to tell me that he had sold Kings to Marks & Spencer. He had, however, maintained ownership of the Short Hills and Morristown liquor licenses. Kings Super Markets Inc. was to also acquire licenses in West Caldwell (the license that eluded me two years previous) and Wayne. He asked me if I would consider coming on board to create a cohesive Fine Wines & Spirits philosophy across both companies and to then oversee the operation. I accepted and began a 7-year effort, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
It was working with Allen and Kings that taught me the how to work within and around the corporate structure and, in turn, prepared me for my next position. Many of my concepts that worked with moderate success when in business for me worked extremely well within the Kings vehicle. This taught me how important image is in relating to you customer.
With Kings, I pioneered "off premise" tastings in NJ. We attracted 350 to 700 customers per tasting and in doing so created good will and business, not only for the chain, but also for the Fine Wines & Spirits departments. We also rose over $15,000 for a variety of charities.
All in all, my stay at Kings made me a better businessman and better prepared me for the next challenge in my career. I owe all of this to Allen Bildner and other Kings' executives such as Jim Meister. My only regret was that I did not have more working time with Allen.
During this time, I took the opportunity to publish 2 restaurant guides that had marketing features synergistic with the wine industry. The name of the book was the Bring Your Own Restaurant Guide – a listing of over 375 restaurants without liquor licenses. The guide met with good success and received positive comments from the likes of the New York Times, Joan Hamburg, Valerie Sinclair and others.
While I was perfectly content with the situation I had developed with Kings, I was becoming bored. When told of another year's delay of Kings Expansion, I decided to follow up on an offer that came my way.
On to Virginia and the Haft family company of Total Beverage. Total had been in existence since 1992 as an entrepreneurial hobby for Herb Haft. While filled with idiosyncrasies that would boggle the mind, Herb was a very creative retailer. That along with the circus atmosphere that followed him was enough to put the concept of big box beverage retailing on the map. In fact, Herb was so far ahead of his time in the beverage retailing industry that most progressive retailers traveled to Virginia to see what he had created.
As good as Herb was, he treated the company as if it never needed to make money. The company was doing $38mm in sales in just three years yet was showing no profit and was mired in debt. The courts removed Herb from the day-to-day operations of all the divisions, installed an Executive Committee who in turn started to revamp each company.
The challenge at Total was formidable. With the removal of Herb from the day to day operations, the company's Executive Committee wanted to take a high grossing, money losing division, shore up the business and prepare for the national expansion with the final goal of going public.
The company structure was simple: one president who dealt mostly with the Executive Committee and set the course for expansion and one vice president who was responsible for the sales plan, marketing and operations. I was the VP. At the time there were 130 associates and sales were $38MM.
In just three quarters, we closed two stores, installed a new category management technique developed by partnering with the IBM Consulting Group, increased margins, liquidated $750,000 in dead inventory and developed new sales goals and programs We then opened two new stores in Chicago and increased gross sales to $59MM.
The Washington Post stated that in Q2 of 1997 the only Haft unit to show a profit was Total Beverage. This came just 9 months after our new management team was put into place.
We were, however, a victim of our own success and of course, the Haft family squabbles. The entire company was sold off in May of 1998. Our division was sold off to our Virginia competitor. I was a part of a group that bid for the company, but second place doesn't win the golden ring.
There was satisfaction in knowing that at the sale price of $8.18MM, the company's worth increased 57.8% in the two years that our management team was in control.
The businessmen and the companies I have been associated with over the past 39 years have well prepared me to accept a new challenge to create a cutting edge retail beverage philosophy and earn a fine return for my investors and me.
What we do is not brain surgery. One needs to know his product, his market and his customer. Add with this a good dose of common sense and some hard work. Success is achievable with these simple ingredients.