Oct. 10—Every square inch of the DHL Bow Distribution Center is packed with wine and spirits ready to be shipped to the state’s 66 Liquor and Wine Outlets and hundreds of restaurants across the state.
Recently, the company added and installed a new racking system and shelves above the loading dock doors to increase capacity of the 244,000-square-foot building off of Route 3A. But to be more efficient and to increase product offerings, the company will soon break ground on a 27,235-square-foot expansion, which will add more than 10% more space.
In total, the new space will increase the building’s capacity from 1.2 million cases to 1.4 million cases of popular products — like Tito’s Handmade Vodka and Kendall-Jackson chardonnay — and room for workers to move about more freely.
DHL Supply Chain, the world’s largest logistics company, entered a 20-year, $200 million warehousing and transportation contract with the state Liquor Commission in 2013. The latest investment in the property is about $10 million.
“We are maximizing every square inch,” said Patrick Kerns, general manager.
Kerns said the new pushback rack system allows pallets to be stored several deep in between the aisles, which added space for about 110,000 cases. The pallets move on rollers when removed, much like grabbing a bottle of Coke from the cooler at a convenience store.
“It allows you to put more products in a smaller space,” he said.
While many employers across the state continue to struggle to find workers, the distribution center is fully staffed. The company increased its wages and offered other benefits to attract new workers.
“It is allowing us to flow the product through the building,” Kerns said. “We are bringing 27,000 to 30,000 cases a day.”
The new space is needed, especially around the holidays when there is an increase in demand.
New Hampshire Liquor Commission Chairman Joseph Mollica said the products come in from all over the world and are ordered months in advance. The state doesn’t own the product until it is on its way to the store shelves.
Sales growth
In the past two decades, the Liquor Commission has grown sales from $332 million to a record of $801 million in fiscal 2021.
The sales in fiscal 2022 dipped to $771.1 million, which was expected after an exceptional year during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The profit was $172.6 million.
Mollica said the commission knew it would be tough to compete with the “COVID year.”
“Those were high numbers, but the sales are doing great,” he said. “Whenever we open a new store we see exponentially incredible growth. Somewhere between 15 and 30%.”
As part of an initiative which started in 2012, stores are being renovated or relocated to new locations to expand the brand. The commission held a grand opening and ribbon cutting for its newest location on Gold Street in Manchester last week.
Often, smaller stores in plazas have been upgraded into standalone buildings. This is being done at the Nashua outlet on Northwest Boulevard, where an old Pier 1 Imports is being expanded for a new 14,000-square-foot outlet.
“We are statutorily responsible to maximize revenues and that’s what we are here to do,” Mollica said.
The biggest efforts over the past decade have been to establish more of a brand and now the focus has shifted to increasing technology for online orders, in which orders can be picked up in store or curbside. Eventually, orders will be shipped straight to homes here in the Granite State.
“I knew that we were reaching that goal when people stopped saying to us, ‘Why are you changing my liquor store?’ and changed it to, ‘when,'” Mollica said.
The new stores are strategically placed near busy stores such as Walmart or Market Basket.
The commission is also looking to sell land to a developer off Interstate 95 in Hampton to build new outlets on the north and southbound lanes to include welcome centers similar to Hooksett.
“We are in the final stages of working with the town,” Mollica said.
The commission is also working to make wages for employees more competitive.
Kerns said DHL is looking forward to the next 10 years of its deal with the state. In the meantime, he will be taking on a new role as Greg Featherston is set to take over as general manager.
Right now, the commission offers 13,000 different products and the new expansion will help the liquor commission grow its brand in offering more selection, Kerns said.
“The state of New Hampshire has the best variety of products of any of the control states,” he said.
