Hensley & Co.

Infobox Company
company_name = Hensley & Co.
company_
company_type = Private
foundation = 1955
location = Phoenix, Arizona, United States
key_people = Cindy Hensley McCain (Chair), Robert Delgado (CEO)
industry = Beverages
products = Beers, lagers, malt beverages, energy drinks
revenue = $340 million
num_employees= 650 (2007)
homepage = http://www.hensley.com

Hensley & Co. is an Anheuser-Busch beer wholesaler and distributor headquartered in the West Phoenix area of Phoenix, Arizona. It markets to the Phoenix, Tempe, and Prescott Valley areas. It is the third-largest Anheuser-Busch distributor in the United Statescite news | url=http://www.azcentral.com/news/election/mccain/articles/2007/01/23/20070123biz-hensley.html | title=McCain, his wealth tied to wife's family beer business | author=Dawn Gilbertson | publisher="The Arizona Republic" | date=2007-01-23 | accessdate=2008-03-06] and one of the largest privately held companies in Arizona.

The company was founded in 1955 by Arizona businessman Jim Hensley on a $10,000 loan.cite book | last=Timberg | first=Robert | title= | publisher=Touchstone Books | year=1999 | isbn=0-684-86794-X p. 131.] cite news | url=http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=0fd7470d-a41f-4d9e-9328-fd079b476a0a | title=Made Man | author=Scheiber, Noam | publisher="The New Republic" | date=2008-08-20 | accessdate=2008-08-22] It originally had 15 workers, sold 73,000 cases of beer a year, and had a 6 percent market share. While it first handled many brands of beer, Hensley accepted an offer later that year to become Anheuser-Busch's exclusive distributor for Maricopa County.cite book |title = Man of the People: The Life of John McCain |first = Paul |last = Alexander |authorlink=Paul Alexander |url= |id = ISBN 0-471-22829-X |year = 2002 |publisher = John Wiley & Sons p. 93.] Under the names Hensley & Company Distributors and Hensley & Company Wholesale, the company saw decades of steady growth, aided by the Phoenix area becoming one of the fastest-growing regions of the country while the company still maintained exclusivity with Anheuser-Busch. Jim Hensley's tireless sales efforts and the generous wages and benefits he gave employees were also key success factors. Regarding technology, Hensley & Co. were the first Anheuser-Busch distributor to invest in refrigerated warehouses, which subsequently became standard in the industry. [cite news | url=http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/09/15/080915fa_fact_levy | title=The Lonesome Trail | author=Levy, Ariel | publisher="The New Yorker" | date=2008-09-15 | accessdate=2008-09-10] By 1970, Hensley & Co. had 20 percent market share; by 1980, that had grown to 50 percent, the business had become quite successful, and Jim Hensley was a multi-millionaire.cite news |url=http://www.azcentral.com/news/specials/mccain/articles/0301mccainbio-chapter5.html |title=John McCain Report: Arizona, the early years |author=Dan Nowicki, Bill Muller |publisher="The Arizona Republic" |date=2007-03-01 |accessdate=2007-11-21]

In 1981, Jim Hensley's new son-in-law John McCain, recently married to daughter Cindy Hensley McCain and retired from the United States Navy, was hired as Vice President of Public Relations. McCain soon left to begin his Congressional career, where he would recuse himself on legislation involving alcohol issues. In the late 1980s, Jim Hensley was active in legislative battles against neo-prohibitionist movements. In 1992, a former Anheuser-Busch lobbyist accused Hensley & Co. of illegal "bundling" of contributions to state legislators.cite news | author=Douglas Frantz | url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0E14FC3F540C728EDDAB0894D8404482 | title=The Arizona Ties: A Beer Baron and a Powerful Publisher Put McCain on a Political Path | publisher="The New York Times" | date=2000-02-21 | accessdate=2006-11-29] Hensley denied the claim, which was later withdrawn by the lobbyist with no charges filed. In 1993, the company consolidated operations under the name Hensley & Company. Robert Delgado, who had been with the company since 1975, was named president in 1994 and later CEO.cite web | url=http://www.abwholesaler.com/hensley/AboutUs/AboutUs | title=About Hensley | publisher=Hensley & Co. | accessdate=2008-03-06] The company also added real estate holdings throughout Arizona. John McCain's son Andrew, from his first marriage, joined the firm around 1997 and would later become its CFO, as well as the chairman of the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce. [cite web | url=http://phoenixchamber.com/About/BoardDirectors/index.html | title=Board of Directors | publisher=Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce | date=2008-07-01 | accessdate=2008-08-23]

At the time of his death in 2000, Jim Hensley held most of the controlling stock;cite news | url=http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2000-02-17/news/haunted-by-spirits/full | title=Haunted By Spirits | author=Amy Silverman, John Dougherty | publisher="Phoenix New Times" | date=2000-02-17 | accessdate=2008-03-06] annual revenues were over $220 millioncite news | title=Beer Magnate Jim Hensley Dies | author=John Stanley | publisher="The Arizona Republic" | date=2000-06-23 | page=A1] on 20 million cases of beer sold. Cindy Hensley McCain, who had been a vice president, became the controlling stockholder — she, her children, and Andrew McCain together control 68 percent of the company — and chair of the board. As chair, her role takes the form of remote consultations with Delgado on major initiatives such as new products, new plants, employee welfare, or charitable giving, rather than of an active physical presence. [cite news | url=http://sandiegomagazine.com/media/San-Diego-Magazine/August-2007/Cindy-McCain/ | title=Cindy McCain | author=Tom Blair | publisher="San Diego Magazine" | date=August 2007 | accessdate=2008-03-08] She is categorized by Anheuser-Busch as an absentee owner, and Delgado is required to have complete control over business operations and investment decisions. Anheuser-Busch inquired about buying the distributorship in the early 2000s, preferring not to have absentee owners, but she declined. Between 1982 and 2000, the company contributed $80,000 to John McCain's campaigns; from 2001 to 2006, the company and its employees would contribute an additional $24,000 to such campaigns.

Hensley & Co. holds a seat on the board of the National Beer Wholesalers Association,cite news | url=http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-hensley22-2008jun22,0,3931241,full.story | title=McCain could have a conflict brewing | author=Ralph Vartabedian | publisher="Los Angeles Times" | date=2008-06-22 | accessdate=2008-06-23] with company executives contributing heavily to it and company spokesperson Douglas Yonko the association's Arizona director. Hensley executives have been active in successfully convincing the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau not to impose alcohol content display requirement for beer labels. In the early 2000s, Hensley sought unsuccessfully to keep liquor makers from entering the flavored malt beverage market, while it began distributing such beverages itself, including Anheuser-Busch's Tilt. Hensley has continued to be a strong presence in Arizona politics, opposing liquor tax increases in all circumstances, including those targeted for childhood education and childrens' hospitals.cite news|author=Halbfinger, David M.|title=For McCains, a Public Path but Private Wealth|date=2008-08-22|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/23/us/politics/23mccain.html|publisher="The New York Times"|accessdate=2008-08-23]

By 2007 Hensley employed 650 people, sold about 23 million cases of beer a year to over 5,000 retail accounts producing revenues of $340 million, and a 60 percent or more market share in its target area. Beverage industry analysts estimated the company's value at more than $250 million.cite news | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23930780/ | title=Beer heiress could be next first lady | author=Sharon Theimer | publisher=Associated Press for MSNBC.com | date=2008-04-03 | accessdate=2008-04-29] Its Phoenix distribution plant occupies a number of acres and is marked by a giant Budweiser sign.cite news | url=http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/03/09/alcohol_industry_ties_may_test_mccain/ | title=Alcohol industry ties may test McCain | author=Michael Kranish | publisher="The Boston Globe" | date=2008-03-09 | accessdate=2008-03-26] Via the holding company King Aviation, Hensley owns and operates Cessna Citation Excel aircraft. [cite news | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/us/politics/27plane.html | title=McCain Frequently Used Wife’s Jet for Little Cost | author=Barry Meier, Margot Williams | publisher="The New York Times" | date=2008-04-27 | accessdate=2008-05-08] Hensley engages in various local sports sponsorships, including for Phoenix International Raceway. The beer distribution business and the Phoenix market for it are both very competitive; while some Anheuser-Busch distributors have ended their exclusive arrangements with the beer maker, analysts believe that Hensley has no plans to do so. Hensley also is a major contributor to charity in the Phoenix metropolitan area, donating about $1 million per year to various causescite news | url=http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/1230biz-hensleydelgado1230.html | title=CEO leads company in tradition of giving back | author=Cathryn Creno | publisher="The Arizona Republic" | date=2007-12-30 | accessdate=2008-03-06] and starting the Hensley Employee Foundation in 2001.

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