Total Wine & More’s Brian Gelb on Intent-Based Leadership and Retail Growth in a Challenging Alcohol Market

About this episode

Brian Gelb discusses intent-based leadership and retail strategies for growth in a challenging alcohol market.

In this episode of BRAVE COMMERCE, Rachel Tipograph and Sarah Hofstetter sit down with Brian Gelb, Senior Vice President of Wine and Concierge at Total Wine & More, to unpack how a retailer is gaining share while the broader alcohol market faces headwinds. Brian shares how his military background shaped an “intent-based leadership” approach that pushes decision-making down, builds ownership, and requires teams to arrive with a recommendation, not just an issue. They also discuss what often breaks down between suppliers and retail partners, why bringing real customer insights to the table changes the quality of joint business planning conversations, and how Total Wine stays focused on service, selection, and sharp pricing, while expanding into non-alcoholic, THC-infused, and emerging functional beverage segments. Key takeaways Intent-based leadership drives accountability by empowering teams to own decisions and defend their reasoning. Retailer–supplier alignment improves when both sides start with customer insights and shared strategy. Share growth in a challenging market comes from disciplined focus on experience, assortment, and price. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy…

People in this episode

Hosts: Rachel Tipograph, Sarah Hofstetter

Guest: Brian Gelb

Topics covered

• intent-based leadership
• retail growth
• alcohol market
• customer insights
• supplier alignment
• non-alcoholic beverages

Keywords

• Total Wine & More
• intent-based leadership
• retail growth
• customer insights
• supplier alignment
• functional beverages

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Total Wine & More, Acast

More episodes of BRAVE COMMERCE

• Campbell’s Risa Cretella on Reinventing Iconic Brands and Winning in Commoditized Categories · May 5, 2026 · 28 min
• Gallo’s Britt West on Fixing Wine’s Relevance Problem and Recruiting the Next Generation · April 21, 2026 · 23 min
• The Wine Group’s Helen Kurtz on Speed to Market and Competing in a Crowded Category · April 14, 2026 · 25 min
• Assemble’s Lara Vandenberg on Rethinking Marketing Teams for a Faster, Fragmented World · April 7, 2026 · 22 min
• Our LEGO Agency’s Jennifer Berry on Building Connected Commerce Beyond Channels · March 31, 2026 · 21 min
• Mizkan’s Amy Luke Busker on Breaking Silos and Leading Through Change Without Losing Direction · March 24, 2026 · 24 min