There seem to be some pretty experienced people out there, so I have a question:

I understand that they way beverage distribution contracts work, if a certain distributor has the rights to a new brand that becomes very popular (like Red Bull), then they can sell it to another larger distributor and basically get a huge premium.

It sounds like the way baseball teams used to trade players around before free agency. Is this true? Did all the *original* RB distributors make a big premium selling their rights to big guys?

Who was the original RB distributor in San Francisco, & did they get a big payday? Is that the game for the small guys - discover new talent?

Very curious. Thanks...

Yes you are correct even in the alcohol side of the business.

Not sure whom the SF RB distrib was.....Ron, do you know?

I believe it was the old Coors house, Pacific Beverage or something. But they have merged with the Miller house about 4 years back (Golden Brands). I wouldnt doubt if there were some dist., but no one around here that I know of has sold off their rights to Red Bull. It took about a year or so, then just exploded. All the distributors around here that have it, have had it since its intro.