ACQUISITIONS
12
SPREADING ITS WINGS
BY ANTHONY WESTBURY
TCBusiness.com
SOUTHERN EAGLE DISTRIBUTING PHOTOS
Southern Eagle Distributing’s Fort Pierce warehouse prominently displays the Anheuser-Busch logo, identifying it as the Budweiser-Busch beer headquarters.
Southern Eagle’s purchase of Palm Beach beer
distributor greatly increases its market share
Southern Eagle Distributing was
founded in Fort Pierce in 1984, when Peter
Busch signed a franchise agreement with
brewing giant Anheuser-Busch to cover
the Treasure Coast territory.
Starting with only 28 employees,
Southern Eagle has grown exponentially
since then. It has increased its market
share of package beers by more than 73%
and handles more than 50% of the draft
beer market on the Treasure Coast, which
includes Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River
counties. A separate distributor serves
Okeechobee County.
The company recently added 120
employees after acquiring Palm Beach
County beer distributor Brown Distributing
in December, bringing the number of
its employees to more than 300. The vast
majority of them operate out of the firm’s
Glades Cut Off Road location in Fort Pierce.
The company, now run by Peter’s son,
Philip, 39, still strongly emphasizes its
family atmosphere and values. It does
not operate like a big-city distributor,
Philip and other top managers insist,
and employees seem to appreciate this
approach. Many have 10- or 15-year
careers with the company.
“We should all try to do what is best for
our community in which we live,” Philip
wrote on the company website.
ANTHONY WESTBURY
Philip Busch, a son of company founder Peter Busch,
>> has taken over the helm at the family business.
/TCBusiness.com