James France is a 30-year veteran of the spirits industry in both Australia and abroad.In 2008 he founded the Sydney-based distribution business Vanguard Luxury Brands with the objective of bringing the best brands to the best bars, liquor stores, restaurants and hotels across Australia.He ultimately sold Vanguard in 2019 to Lion, which simultaneously acquired the biggest brand on Vanguard’s roster, Four Pillars Gin, as we previously explored with Four Pillars co-founder Cam Mackenzie on the show a few years ago now.After successfully managing that integration, James recently announced his departure from Vanguard.So I figured this was an appropriate juncture to invite him in for a chat about his experience distributing spirits over the last couple of decades, while the Australian industry was undergoing some massive changes.As you’ll soon hear… while the Vanguard story had the happy outcome of a successful exit for James, as is invariably the case, there were plenty of challenges and costly failures along the way.