Monthly Depletion Read
The headline
You are up. Portfolio depletions are +18.1% year to date versus the same five months last year, 16,850 cases against 14,269. The growth is real and broad, not one lucky market. Three things below deserve attention this month: one to pour fuel on, one to fix, and one report that has not landed.
What is moving
Navy Strength Gin is your breakout, up 57.9%. Still small, but growing faster than anything else you make. Push it for placements while it has momentum.
The core is healthy: London Dry, Vodka 750ml, and Bourbon all growing. The new 1.75L Vodka is landing in most markets.
What is not
Texas is down 17.6% and it is not a blip. The decline runs across the core lines there, month after month, while every other major market grows.
It is a big enough market that the drag shows up even with everything else climbing. This is the number to act on first.
The gap
Georgia has not reported May. Every other state is in; Georgia stops at April (the amber flag on the dashboard).
Either the report is late or something changed at the distributor. Do not read the May total as final until it lands.
Do these five things this month
- Get on the phone about Texas. Ask what changed: lost placements, a reset, reduced focus, a competitor promotion. You cannot fix what you have not diagnosed. This is the priority.
- Chase the Georgia May report. One quick email closes the gap so next month's number is clean.
- Push Navy Strength while it is hot. Use the growth as your pitch for more on-premise placements and a feature or two. Momentum is your best sales argument.
- Protect the Texas core. Make sure London Dry and Vodka 750ml hold their existing points of distribution there before chasing new ones.
- Watch the 1.75L for cannibalization. Pull next month's 750ml vs 1.75L Vodka split by market. If 750ml shrinks where 1.75L grows, you are trading margin, not gaining volume.
Smarter go-to-market for brands that refuse to blend in.