Harbor Distributing (One of five regional beer distributors owned by beverage giant Reyes Holdings) is one of the largest in Southern California, distributing throughout Los Angeles and all of Orange County. And it just got bigger. I got an anonymous tip today that Harbor bought Gate City Distributing. Effective March 1, Harbor will be taking over the territory previously serviced by Gate City, which includes Riverside and much of the Inland Empire area. Harbor is one of the biggest Miller distributors and also carries several other popular brands such as Coors, Corona, Heineken, Guinness, Labatt’s, Newcastle, and Sierra Nevada. Consolidation is rarely a good thing for the small craft brewers.
Harbor Distributing will totally ruin the customer relations Gate city has built all these years. They are notorious for their business policys. I own a small business in OC and deal with Harbor on a weekly basis and I can tell you that when it comes to customer service they are awful. The prices they charge their customer are higher than any beer distributing that I know. People in the Inland Empire there is a bully coming to town!
I do not agree. I think that certain customers who do smaller volume and get put on two week deliveries as opposed to weekly might tend to get a little upset, But it just doesnt make sense to send a delivery truck for a weekly shipment that only takes a few cases. if you consider the cost for fuel, manpower, etc, It just doesnt add up. And its a known fact that A-B sets the pace for product pricing. Most Miller and Coors houses usually follow the leader. I am sure they will do fine.