It's not just Lallemand and/or Red Star.
K1V-1116 is the same strain as Gervin Varietal "E". Yet its no problem getting K1V, but the Gervin version is like rocking horse turds !
I just learned to use the Lallemand brands (Lalvin being one of them) because they seem to publish more data than all the other producers combined. Which, IMO, helps make an informed decision as to the best yeast for the batch you want to make.