The Kirkwood Group is a national sales and marketing agency
representing producers of premium wines, spirits, beers and ready-to-drink products. TKG is an independently owned Canadian family business.

Our Mandate

  • To represent a select group of international suppliers, marketing and selling their brands in all Canadian markets.
  • To build our suppliers brands, achieving long-term growth through specific, targeted brand programming and sales activities.
  • To build positive, long-term relationships and partnerships with our suppliers and customers.
  • To achieve a sense of pride, gratification and accomplishment through the attainment of our individual and corporate goals.

Our Commitment

  • To grow our business through creative brand-building, marketing and sales.
  • To develop channel business plans and long-term brand-building activities to grow the volume and profitability of the brands.
  • To be a customer-driven agency, focused on managing the brands cooperatively with provincial liquor boards, independent retailers and on-premise accounts.
  • To communicate brand features, attributes and benefits to our customers in all sales channels.
  • To deliver measurable, accountable, accurate and transparent results to our suppliers.
  • To provide a turnkey service for our suppliers, with one central office, one national vision for the brands, one national team, and consistent, streamlined communications.

What we do

 

Know the markets

We offer a comprehensive knowledge of each of the provincial markets and their regulatory bodies, through years of experience, personal contacts and ongoing, daily contact. We provide this intelligence to our suppliers through our management of their brands, and when they are considering the listing of a line extension, or contemplating changes in an established brand.

New product process

We manage of all of the steps involved in bring a suppliers product to market, from the receipt of initial samples, preparation of listing applications, marketing plans and budgets, product presentations, packaging compliance, inventory management, product launch, and the building of retail presence, store by store.

Strategic planning

We develop channel business plans and long-term strategies to build the business through all available points of sale.

Brand management

We build brand awareness, volume sales and profitability, through distribution and promotion in select retail outlets and high-profile on-premise accounts.

Inventory management

We have a comprehensive inventory management/supply chain system that tracks each SKU by market, based on fully developed relationships with all provincial liquor boards, warehouses, and freight forwarders.

Trade marketing

We build brands for long-term profitability and growth through promotions and material design to increase awareness and secure a permanent feature and display positioning.

Staff training

We educate retail and on-premise service staff on the features and benefits of the brands and how to sell them to customers in each channel, through product knowledge and value-added sales techniques.

Consumer promotions

We build brand image consistent with our suppliers brand strategies, and create consumer desire to purchase through tastings, promotions and events.