Mass. Beer Distributors Want Franchise Reform

They swarmed the capitol on Beacon Hill, urging passage of House Bill 2823, which would allow brewers producing less than 30,000 barrels a year to terminate wholesaler contracts for any reason – or no reason at all.

William Kelly, president, Beer Distributors of Massachusetts, said the measure would encompass 97% of breweries nationwide.

“This proposal is an equitable solution for emerging breweries,” Kelley says. “It provides unprecedented opportunity for breweries to develop and grow their businesses, while protecting the independent local distributors and the jobs they create from the economic leverage of larger multinational corporations.”

The wholesalers have opposed prior attempts to ease Massachusetts’ franchise law.  Those attempts would have let breweries whose brands accounted for less than 20% of a wholesaler’s total annual sales to cancel contracts, provided they compensated wholesalers for “fair market value” of the lost business.

Kelly said those measures would have allowed every single brand except one to cancel distribution contracts.

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