Binny's buys Sam's Wines

October 9, 1:16 PMChicago Craft Beer ExaminerMark McDermott

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The winner of another retailer fight.

One of the worst-kept secrets in the Chicago retail scene was finally spilled. Thursday evening the Chicago Tribune broke the news that Binny's Beverage Depot would buy out Sam's Wines and Spirits.

The deal had been rumored throughout the craft beer community all this year, and accelerated when Sam's closed two of its four stores, one in the South Loop, the other in Highland Park.

Sam's Wines has been a major player as a promoter of craft beer. Their location near the Goose Island brewpub was the first place I discovered that carried a large line of smaller labels. At one time, when Wal-Mart began opening its Sam's Club wholesale stores in the Chicago area, Sam's Wines tried unseccessfully to prevent them from selling beer and wine, claiming a trademark on the name "Sam's" as a liquor retialer.

The Tribune article and an analysis in the Chicagost have suggested that Sam's mistake was in selling out to a private equity company to settle a dispute among founding family members. This forced Sam's management to focus too hard on bottom line results, while Binny's was agressively expanding and buying other chains like DiCarlo's Armanetti. Sam's South Loop store competed directly against a Binny's store nearby, and Sam's blinked when gentrification slowed in that neighborhood. My opinion: locating your big box store next to the compeition's big box can backfire. Ask Linens 'n Things. Ask Circuit City. Speaking of which, Binny's had planned to lease a shuttered Circuit City store in Downers Grove, across the Veterans Memorial Tollway from Sam's suburban outpost. When that deal fell through, it futher stoked rumors that Binny's would just take over Sam's.

While the loss of a major craft beer retailer is unfortunate, it comes when many independent stores are ramping up in that area. While Walgreens ballyhooed plans to carry beer and wine will result only in a few coolers with megabrews and Carlo Rossi, some Jewel/Osco stores have been expanding their craft beer offerings. There's an opportunity here for new players to expand in the craft beer scene.