David Trone

David John Trone (born September 21, 1955 in Cheverly, Maryland) is the co-owner, founder, and President of Total Wine & More, the nation's largest privately owned retailer of fine wine, beer, and spirits. The company's headquarters are based in Bethesda, Maryland.^[1] David is married to June Trone and they have four children.^[2][3]

Early life & education

David grew up on a 200-acre family farm where he raised chickens, corn, wheat, and hogs.^[4] In addition to the family farm, Trone's parents also ran a farm vacation business on the property with eight cottages.^[4] In 1982, Thomas Trone purchased a Sunoco gas station with two garage bays that sold beer and wine. The same year, Thomas and Jean Trone divorced. Trone's father kept the farm and his mother took over the soda and beer store.^[5]

Trone attended Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1977.^[6] In 1985, Trone graduated with a MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he majored in marketing. His wife, June, also received her MBA from Wharton in 1985.^[7]

The Trone family farm was hit hard during the stagflation years of the late 1970s and early 1980s when interest rates climbed to 17%. By 1982, it was clear the farm could not be saved. The farm fell into insolvency, and Thomas Trone filed for bankruptcy in 1983. David helped manage the liquidation of the farm and the bankruptcy process while he was a student at Wharton.^[8]

David Trone frequently cites his father’s loss of the family farm as a valuable learning opportunity. Watching the struggle unfold was an important moment for personal success later in life. Trone has stated, “Failure needs to be our friend because failure means we’re innovating. If we’re not innovating, we’re going the wrong way.”^[9]

Early business struggles and criminal charges

The Trones “big box” model of beer and wine stores triggered bitter battles with competitors and drew scrutiny from regulators and criminal charges related to volume discounts. Trone was charged with a series of crimes including perjury and racketeering.^[10] The case arose from the state's contention that David Trone illegally hid the fact that he owned nine Beer World supermarkets. Trone opened the first Beer World supermarket in 1984. Eight others later opened, with relatives of Trone listed in some cases as the owners. Preate allegedly reneged on a plea deal with Trone and other members of his family under pressure from Trone competitors. The criminal charges were ultimately dismissed.^[11]

Pennsylvania’s Republican Attorney General, Ernest Preate, Jr., convened a statewide grand jury to investigate various issues related to Trone and Beer World. The grand jury eventually brought charges against Trone and his wife and brother, Robert Trone, all of which were eventually dropped. The judge who dropped the charges, Joseph Kleinfelter, said the case was an example of “prosecutorial overreaching.”^[12]

In the wake of these episodes, the Trones won a $400,000 judgment against the federal government for illegally turning over private personal financial information to state investigators. Trone’s competitors successfully lobbied the Pennsylvania state legislature in 1987 to pass a law preventing anyone from advertising the prices of beer. The United States Supreme Court ruled the law unconstitutional in 44 Liquormart, Inc. v. Rhode Island in 1996.

Total Wine & More

In 1991, Trone opened a store in Milltown, Delaware, which later became the first Total Wine & More. In 1992, he purchased another store in Claymont, Delaware.

The company grew rapidly and is now the largest independent retailer of wine, beer, and spirits in the country. To date, there are 130 Total Wine locations in 18 states, and the company plans to add 12 to 15 stores each year.^[13] In 2015, the company opened 17 stores nationwide. Total Wine currently has more than 5,000 employees nationwide. Revenues topped $2 billion in 2015 and are expected to top $3 billion by 2019.

Total Wine & More is known for its broad selection of fine wines, beers, and liquors. The stores offer 8,000 wines, 3,000 spirits, and 2,500 beers. Each store also stocks a range of accessories, including glassware and cigars. It conducts online sales in 14 states that allow online alcohol sales. Total Wine & More is a four time Retailer of the Year in 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2014.^[14]

Since 1991, Total Wine & More has given millions of dollars in donations to a range of nonprofits. Most of their contributions go toward programs that support the humanities, health services, and education. In 2014, Total Wine & More contributed over $5 million in charitable donations. In 2015, the company donated more than $6 million to 8,000 charities in 18 states.^[15]

Total Wine & More is active in the prevention of drunk driving. In November 2012, the company partnered with local law enforcement in Tampa, Florida to raise awareness about the dangers of drunk driving, specifically during the holiday season. The company actively works with Jack Daniels to promote the use of designated drivers. It works with BeMyDD, the largest drunk driving prevention program in the country, to offer rides during the holiday season.^[16]

In September 2015, Total Wine & More opened a new office space in Bethesda, Maryland. At the opening, the company donated $100,000 to local charities. The new office has over 100,000 square feet. Total Wine plans to employ 1,000 people in the corporate office over the next five years. At the opening, Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) remarked, “What a great story about a family business that just took off through hard work, creativity and ingenuity.”^[17]

2016 Congressional Campaign

On January 27, 2016 Trone announced that he will seek the Democratic nomination to succeed Rep. Chris Van Hollen in Maryland's 8th congressional district.^[18]

On February 2, 2016, Trone indicated that he had terminated a campaign supervisor and two employees who had “surreptitiously volunteered” for the campaigns of his two leading 8th District opponents—Kathleen Matthews and state Sen. Jamie Raskin. Matthews's campaign manager had written a letter to Trone's campaign manager in which he claimed a field organizer for the Trone campaign walked into Matthews’s campaign office and offered to work as a volunteer. After completing a canvassing task in what was perceived as an unusually short period of time, Trone's field organizer reportedly walked into the Matthews campaign office and attempted to enter the senior staff office.^[19]

References