As the coronavirus pandemic forced bars and restaurants across the country to shut down, Gary Vaynerchuk's Empathy Wines is making a big splash in the online wine business. Now, the startup has been acquired by alcohol giant Constellation Brands.
After just 18 months in production, founder and media personality Vaynerchuk told Cheddar it was the perfect time to sell Empathy.
"The reality is, Constellation's infrastructure allows me to deliver on my dream of making the best $20 wine in the world," he said.
Empathy Wines sold 15,000 cases in its first year, raking in more than $3.5 million. Now it joins an umbrella of brands under Constellation including Corona and Svedka. Robert Hanson, president of wine and spirits at Constellation Brands, said the company wants to capitalize on Empathy's strength in the digital wine sales space.
"Empathy is an incredible brand," he said. "They balance art and science in terms of how they build the brand in the marketplace."
The company's online success is not only attributable to "the deep understanding of how to do marketing in 2020," Vaynerchuk said, but also from his experience understanding customers' wants and needs regarding wines.
"I literally grew up in the wine business and stood on the wine store floor for almost two decades and interacted with people and really just had a real sense of where the palate was these days," he added. As a young man, Vaynerchuk worked in his family's wine shop.
The new deal, according to Hanson, will bring opportunities for both companies to collaborate without impeding Empathy's successful approach to marketing in the digital space.
"We'll keep Empathy as a standalone brand, obviously, to drive the growth that we think is possible with the Empathy Brand specifically. On the same score, leveraging Gary's partnership with me. We've known each other a long time and think quite similarly about business development," he said.
As more states pull back on reopening plans due to a surge in U.S. coronavirus cases, Constellation Brands' priorities remain online, Hanson noted.
"We're very much focused on making sure that we win in digital commerce. That's why this investment with Empathy was so critical," he said.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
