E-commerce beverage-alcohol platform Provi and Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC) have reached a “mutually satisfactory resolution” of their yearslong legal battle, which has ended with a settlement, the companies announced.
As part of that resolution, the companies have forged a nationwide services agreement that will allow RNDC’s retail customers to place orders using Provi’s marketplace, according to a press release.
Provi reached a provisional settlement with Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits (SGWS) in April as part of the same lawsuit, which it filed in March 2022.
“Our purpose is to serve the evolving needs of our partners – our associates, suppliers, customers, and the broader industry,” RNDC president and CEO Bob Hendrickson said in the release. “This agreement reflects our continued focus on smart, practical innovation that enhances how we serve the industry. By partnering with Provi, we will give customers more flexibility in how they work with us, while maintaining the reliability and consistency they expect from RNDC.”
In its complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division, Provi alleged RNDC and SGWS steered retailers away from Provi’s e-commerce marketplace in favor of their own B2B ordering services, eRNDC and SG Proof, respectively.
Both were introduced in April 2019, three years after Provi’s 2016 launch, and prior to their shunning of Provi, both defendants fulfilled more than 120,000 orders from retailers through Provi, worth almost $200 million in revenue, Provi said in its complaint.
RNDC will add Provi “as an additional digital channel for accessing RNDC’s portfolio” alongside eRNDC, according to the release.
“The integration will also allow retailers to submit orders directly to RNDC through Provi, offering greater flexibility and improving efficiency while preserving existing relationships and workflows,” the release said. “The RNDC-Provi integration is expected to roll out later this year reinforcing both companies’ commitment to innovation, partnership, and customer-centric growth.”
“Provi and RNDC are committed to improving the beverage-alcohol space while supporting the evolving needs of retailers and their distributor partners – within the framework of the three-tier system,” Provi CEO and founder Taylor Katzman said in the release. “This strategic relationship brings us closer to building a more efficient and connected industry.”
RNDC is the country’s second-largest distributor of wine and spirits and operates in every state except Connecticut, Delaware, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Wisconsin. That list will grow longer in September, when RNDC pulls out of California.
Provi offers access to portfolios of about 1,400 distributors in 49 states, according to its website. Its user base includes more than 200,000 bev-alc buyers from on- and off-premise retailers, and its marketplace includes more than 750,000 active SKUs.