Hancocks' Secret Weapon: Why Family Is the Savviest Business Rebrand of the Year
The 96 free-range hens, solar panels, and mentorship strategy building multi-generational drinks leadership.
It’s a rare and beautiful thing when a company’s public face finally catches up to its soul. I’ll admit, when I heard Hancocks Wines, Spirits & Beer Merchants had given itself a spit-and-polish, my internal cynic took a deep breath and poured a gin. After all, the trade knows the business as Hancocks. They’re a cornerstone. Why mess with the recipe? The Jakicevich head coach surely knows better than to mess with that kind of tradition?
Then I read the new, not-so-new name: Hancocks Family Merchants.
And suddenly, that gin morphed into a cask-strength, complex single malt. Satisfying. Layered. Depth appeared in the glass.
Launched at the always highly anticipated annual tradeshow, the rebrand is more than a lick of vibrant neon green paint. Take a bit of time and you’ll see this isn’t a marketing stunt either; it’s an absolute bullseye. Embracing that Hancocks remains 100% family-owned and that the incredibly cool, highly skilled, colourful and occasionally chaotic work colleagues are actually... part of the family. And that is the fuel revving the business up for the future, when others are battening down the hatches.
From Shorthand to Strategy
Let’s not pretend for a second that anyone in the trade ever used the full, verbose previous name for anything other than official documents. For decades, they’ve simply been Hancocks. They’ve been the rep you call, the reliable warehouse that moves the stock and the home of some of the world’s most desirable brands.
Owner Joe Jakicevich is refreshingly direct about the shift: “For years, we’ve focused on being a house of brands. Now, it’s time we rebranded the house itself. The change to Hancocks Family Merchants isn’t just a nod to our family’s stewardship; it’s a promise to our staff and partners that they are part of our enduring story.”
As Paul Holmes, the marketing manager, confirmed, “Hancocks will always be shorthand in the trade.” That familiar anchor is vital. But the full new name signals something deeper. It’s a deliberate move to leverage the immense, quiet trust they’ve built and monetise their culture. This is the commercial genius of the rebrand.
The Human Element: Why Mentorship and Humour Matter
The four pillars that emerged from Hancocks’ deep dive—Family, People, Trust, and Service—are exactly what you hear when you’re talking to people in the trade. But it’s the quiet cultural threads that truly reinforce them.
There’s a legacy of mentorship that many employees speak of - being “brought through” by someone else in the business. Several staff members I spoke to reflected on being taken under the wing of an old hand, an experience shared by other family members working in the business. That’s the Hancocks DNA—it’s not a formal system; it’s organic in the way they operate.
Those sometimes chaotic and incredibly cool colleagues? It’s a celebration of individuality in a business doesn’t just tolerate difference; it embraces it, according to Paul.
That’s fed through a regular schedule of bringing people together; quarterly hui, the chook & garden roster and the yearly table tennis championship. They work together, laugh together and more importantly look out for each other. And you don’t have to spend much time with the Hancocks team to know their litany of table games, rituals and traditions are part of the strong storytelling instinct that builds trust, authenticity and a sense of connection that extends to the brands they represent, as well as the ones they are building.
As Paul confirmed, “Hancocks will always be shorthand in the trade.” That familiar anchor is vital. But the full new name, Hancocks Family Merchants, signals something deeper. It’s a deliberate move to leverage the immense, quiet trust they’ve built and monetise their culture.
This is the commercial genius of the rebrand. It takes an intangible asset—the family-run feel, the long-term relationships—and makes it the primary selling point and focus of how the business will continue to move forward and navigate complex waters.
Longevity is Built, Not Bought
The rebrand isn’t just a cosy throwback; it’s a strategic lens for the future. The Jakicevich family’s multi-generational stewardship gives them a rare 10–20 year horizon on their decisions, focusing on longevity over short-term gains, something that has been consistently present since the family purchased Hancocks in 1991 with the intention of rebuilding the company’s legacy.
And that long-term thinking is actually built into their Auckland home, Te Whare Tuuranga, which they moved into in 2021.
Hancock’s cultural pillars are also tied to a strategic investment in sustainable infrastructure. The purpose-built Te Whare Tuuranga facility is fitted with 480 solar panels—meeting 100% of the site’s energy needs in 2023 through generation and purchased RECs—and harvests 50,000 litres of rainwater. This captured water is then used to maintain the onsite 40 square metre community vegetable garden and, yes, the chicken coop housing their 96 free-range hens. When you need a boost of daily goodness, a quick glimpse at the Chicken Camera or Solar Dashboard does the job.
These unique, community-focused assets—which provide fresh eggs and produce to staff (saving them an estimated $27,000 annually)—are direct, measurable outcomes of the company’s embedded commitment to people, planet, and multi-generational stewardship.
This is not just fluffy HR. This is a distributor running on solar power and rainwater, leveraging massive operational efficiency (lowered utility costs, high insulation ratings, streamlined logistics) to provide a deeply rooted, value-driven work environment. That means staff stay longer, staff know their product better, and the service is more reliable.
Investing in the Next Generation of Brands
The true health check of a distributor is not just who they keep, but who they attract. The new ‘Family Merchants’ banner acts as a beacon for like-minded partners—brands looking for stability and genuine partnership, not just shelf space. This year alone, the portfolio has expanded to include exciting agencies like The Maker (wines exclusive to the on-premise trade, designed by Kim Crawford), the practical bar solution of Re’al Cocktail Ingredients, Teremana tequila, Asian powerhouses Hani and Bohae, and new focus on heritage European brands alongside blockbuster beers Michaelob, Modelo and Budweiser. This strategic selection confirms their agile nature—they are staying grounded while actively positioning themselves for the next growth cycles in local, premium, and bar-focused categories. They are consistently poised to deliver depth, experience and the right product at the right time to customer demand.
The Business Impact They Hope to See
The enthusiasm sparked by the rebrand is designed to drive tangible business benefits in a tough market.
Retention and Engagement: Internally, the uplift in staff pride is about reducing churn and maintaining that high level of service. Engaged employees who see their stories reflected in the new identity, and who get free eggs from the backyard, are better salespeople and better partners.
Deeper Collaboration: Externally, the shift to Family Merchants has immediately opened up deeper conversations with partners and suppliers. Paul noted it’s a “cultural signal that Hancocks is doubling down on relationships.” This means securing better long-term brand partnerships, winning exclusive distribution rights, and fostering resilient supply chains—all vital competitive advantages. The new name ‘invites trust’, ensuring customers feel part of something enduring, rather than being treated as just another transaction.
Agility and Resilience: They are a company that is willing to put on more staff when the market compresses, relying on their strong values to guide difficult decisions. This multi-generational lens helps them “stay grounded while remaining agile,” which translates to stability for every brand and customer they serve.
Hancocks Family Merchants is a warm, and utterly relevant rebrand. It even has a quirky and heartfelt story delivered by Joe, Jedda and Tonci Jakicevich. The ‘new, not-so-new’ logo was sitting in front of them the whole time, a stencilled design found on an old Hancocks bottle that has long sat in the company’s office. This historic mark pays homage to Hancocks’ 1859 heritage, now reimagined with a modern pop of colour, symbolising the fusion of tradition and innovation.
It proves that a deep, genuine investment in people—the staff, the partners, and the customers—is not an expense, but the most powerful asset a modern distributor can possess. It manages to honour the craft of their legacy while embracing a future built on relationships and resilience.
And Paul says the rebrand to Hancocks Family Merchants has sparked a genuine sense of pride and renewed purpose across the organisation.
”Internally, it’s created a stronger emotional connection to the company’s legacy and future — especially among long-serving team members who see their own stories reflected in the new identity. There’s a noticeable uplift in engagement, with staff leaning into the values and history that underpin the name. Externally, partners and suppliers have responded positivity. The rebrand has opened deeper conversations about shared values and long-term collaboration. It’s not just a name change — it’s a cultural signal that Hancocks is doubling down on relationships, heritage, and future-facing thinking.”
And no, I don’t work for Hancocks. But I would. Which is really saying something. Maybe it’s the family, maybe it’s the storytelling. But there’s a boldness to being so open about what a name can mean, that tells you something about how this family might have your back in times of trouble. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to find out who’s responsible for the table tennis championship trophy.
What do you think is the trickiest part for a long-established company trying to honour their history while modernising their image? It’s a delicate balancing act and there are more than one or two legacy businesses going through it. Send me your thoughts.