Rafael Schwarz’s Post

Cheers to that! Campari Group, the Italian spirit maker, marks the beginning of 2024 with its largest acquisition ever, acquiring Courvoisier Cognac House from US-Japanese spirits group Beam Suntory for $1.2 billion. CEO Bob Kunze-Concewitz sees it as a unique opportunity to secure one of the major cognac maisons, aiming to position Campari as a formidable player against rivals Diageo and Pernod Ricard. The strategic move also aims to strengthen Campari's presence in the United States, with expectations of a nine percent boost in net sales and a two percent increase in earnings per share, according to Reuters. #luxurylifestyle #luxuryliving #luxuryspirits #campari #diageo #pernodricard #courvoisier #liquor #cognac #spirits https://lnkd.in/evdyixz6

Campari Group today sealed the deal on the largest acquisition in its history as it snapped up Courvoisier Cognac from Beam Suntory for a total enterprise value of US$1.32 billion. A member of Cognac’s big four, it also creates a fourth major leg within the Italian group alongside aperitifs, bourbon and tequila. Courvoisier will join a raft of big name brands including Campari, Aperol, Wild Turkey, Grand Marnier, Appleton Estate, Skyy vodka, Wray & Nephew and Espolón. Campari Group, having already stepped up its presence in the travel retail channel considerably over the past two years, will likely waste no time in investing heavily and imaginatively behind its new acquisition. Many drinks industry insiders were surprised that Beam Suntory would sell such a jewel. But clearly the Japanese drinks giant has decided to focus on what it considers its whisk(e)y and other spirit gems. Full story of the Courvoisier deal via the link. #travelretail #cognac #dutyfree Marco Cavagnera MARK JORDAN https://lnkd.in/e6z-6E9c

This is interesting! Score one for the red-headed step-children. Diageo acquired Astral Tequila (and some more brands) when it bought Davos Brands, essentially so it could get hold of Aviation Gin. But unlike what Pernod subsequently did* when it acquired Castle Brands in order to get its hands on Jefferson’s whiskey, Diageo seems to be integrating at least one of their accidentally acquired brands into its portfolio, by using Astral in a bottled margarita. *Farmed out most of Castle’s other brands - Knappogue Castle whiskey, Clontarf whiskey, etc., plus Plymouth gin** and Power’s whiskey - to a “foster parent”, Lafayette Imports. **Also an accidentally-acquired brand that came along with the ABSOLUT purchase! https://lnkd.in/eEg276fR

Campari Acquires Stake in Bunnahabhain: A Bold Move Shaking Up the Scotch Whisky World. Campari Group #CampariGroup #Bunnahabhain #ScotchWhisky #WhiskyInvestments #SpiritsIndustry #WhiskyLovers #LuxurySpirits #WhiskyMarket #BusinessofSpirits #IndustryExpansion

Diageo Sells Safari Liqueur to Portugal's Casa Redondo: Strategic Focus on Core Brands.John Kennedy, Daniel R. #Diageo #SafariLiqueur #CasaRedondo #LiquorSale #StrategicFocus #SpiritsIndustry #BrandPortfolio #MarketExpansion #AlcoholIndustry #BusinessStrategy

The Boston Beer Company in talks to sell itself to Beam Suntory for $>3.5bn As predicted at the beginning of the year, we expect a progressive bounce-back of M&A transactions in the FMCG industry driven by mid-size transactions ($1-6bn EV) on same categories involving mostly US-based assets This transaction would make it the largest M&A transaction in the FMCG industry over the last 9 months. For perspective, FMCG M&A deal value in Q1 2024 were a meager $1.5bn More details in our latest FMCG M&A publications: 𝗙𝗠𝗖𝗚 𝗖𝗘𝗢𝘀: 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯 𝗠&𝗔 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 – 𝗦𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 & 𝗦𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 https://lnkd.in/edKUDrEG 𝗙𝗠𝗖𝗚 𝗖𝗘𝗢𝘀: 𝗠&𝗔 𝗤𝟭 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 𝗜𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 - 𝗔 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 & 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 https://lnkd.in/eER9wNWY 𝗧𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀, 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘂𝘀 & 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗙𝗠𝗖𝗚 𝗖𝗘𝗢 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿: https://lnkd.in/ea4gy65y #CPG #FMCG The Coca-Cola Company Nestlé Procter & Gamble PepsiCo Unilever Mondelēz International AB InBev The HEINEKEN Company Carlsberg Group Molson Coors Beverage Company Asahi Beverages Pernod Ricard Diageo Campari Group Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. Danone https://lnkd.in/eNiEB5pj

“Davide Campari-Milano NV’s new Chief Executive Officer Matteo Fantacchiotti says he wants to tap the ‘enormous’ potential of the distiller’s popular Aperol beverage, focusing on growth in Asia while also continuing to hunt for development opportunities in the region as well as in the U.S. ‘I believe over the next five to ten years Asia will account for 15% to 20% of our global sales,’ Fantacchiotti told Bloomberg during his first public appearance as chief of the Milan-based company. Fantacchiotti was appointed to the top job following the retirement of longtime CEO Bob Kunze-Concewitz, who oversaw more than 20 acquisitions during his tenure. ‘Asia has become a strategic priority for the group in 2020,’ the CEO said. ‘First we gave priority to Europe, then to the U.S., which is our number-one market, and now it’s time for Asia.’” “The plan in China is to initially focus on ‘cities close to Hong Kong and with favorable weather,’ he said. Last year, the Aperol brand accounted for 24% of the group’s sales and grew by triple digits in China and India, according to an investor presentation. Overall, the Asia-Pacific region accounted for 8% of Campari group sales. Fantacchiotti, who spearheaded Campari’s expansion in Asia as managing director before taking the top job, said M&A opportunities will also be key to expanding in the area as well as in the U.S. Cognac Deal. ‘We’re looking at anything that can strengthen our franchise to grow even more quickly in the U.S. and Asia and that can make our offer ‘premium’,’ he said. ‘Whiskey is just an example but it’s not the only category we’re looking at.’ In December, Campari Group agreed to buy Courvoisier Cognac from Beam Suntory.” “The transaction was for at least $1.2 billion in the largest acquisition in the Italian spirit maker’s history. It also acquired U.S. Bourbon producer Wilderness Trail Distillery LLC in 2022 as it continued expanding beyond traditional aperitfs. Fantacchiotti spoke at an event to mark the upgrade of a Campari plant in Novi Ligure, northern Italy, which accounts for about one-third of output, according to a statement on Friday. That will increase its annual capacity by 100 million bottles; production has already risen from 29 million bottles in 2004 to 360 million last year. The CEO said he doesn’t see any reason not to provide guidance in the second quarter as the company has done in the past. But that’s not a promise, he said, as there are still uncertainties, although shipping bottlenecks have eased and inflation has slowed down in some geographies.”

Param Uberoi and Rise of Indian whiskey Param sir is case study on how silently built business from European model custom made for India. any CEO or MNC should study him who are serious about INDIA. In his tenure he built brands like #blenderpride #royalstag #Imepriablue who has propelled French MNC to amazing heights of sustainable profits domination with lower but premiumization. even before Premiumization word was heard much he created the alchemy. India is bright spot on global profitability map of #Pernodricard with no 2 most profitable country. most importantly is that this feat was achieved mostly with Indian created brands like Blenders pride and Royal Stag ( unlike other countries) . 10000s jobs and 1000s Cr tax to Indian exchequers are other noble outcome. his case study on Conquering India market should be part of global B schools as well as Indian B Schools surely on how yo built global brands and slowly dominate Indian market. #makeinIndia #brands Pernod Ricard Pernod Ricard India https://lnkd.in/dmJ6F2-Y https://lnkd.in/dmJ6F2-Y

Campari Group recently finalized the acquisition of Courvoisier for 1.22 billion euros, marking its largest deal to date. CEO Matteo Fantacchiotti remains bullish about future growth, especially in sales of popular brands like Aperol and Campari. Additionally, the company sees opportunities for expansion in markets like China, where Courvoisier generates about 9% of its sales. This optimism is further supported by positive signals from the Chinese government regarding tariffs on imported products like cognac. Read More Here: https://reut.rs/3JQqW1E #Restaurants #Hospitality #Technology #Business #Innovation #AI #investing #venturecapital Branded Hospitality Ventures Campari Group Raul Gonzalez Steve Chasen Julka Villa Liam Gohery

The Drinks International 2024 Brand Report is a great way to start the year and reflect on our journey for the last 6 years. Markets, Regions, Global and agency partners... none of this would have been possible without strong collaboration. “It’s now the sixth year in a row that Bacardi has topped the rum bestsellers list. The Bermudan giant has again proven to be an essential at every tier of hospitality, with its value proposition and versatility tough to beat. Given that Bacardi is the house pour in 28% of the polled bars, and a top-three bestseller in almost half, it looks unlikely that its category dominance is about to change. For now, the real competition is the fight for second place.” #drinksinternational #Bacardi #Best10