Innholdsfortegnelse for November 1, 2020 i Shanken's Impact Newsletter

MARVIN R. SHANKEN, CHAIRMAN OF M. SHANKEN COMMUNICATIONS, Inc., has announced major new appointments at the top of the masthead of both Wine Spectator and Whisky Advocate magazines. After a 33-year career at M. Shanken, Thomas Matthews is stepping down as executive editor of Wine Spectator. Jeffery Lindenmuth, currently executive editor of sibling publication Whisky Advocate, will succeed Matthews as executive editor of the world’s most widely read wine publication at the end of the year. “As executive editor of Whisky Advocate, Jeffery Lindenmuth has done an outstanding job propelling that title into the most highly respected whisky magazine in the world. Under his leadership the magazine has enjoyed significant growth,” said Shanken. “Having worked closely with him, I believe he can take Wine Spectator to even greater heights. He…

CAMPARI GROUP POSTED NET SALES DOWN 2.8% TO €1.3 BILLION ($1.5B) FOR the nine months through September, marking the first three quarters of its fiscal year, although the company reported a strong rebound in the most recent quarter, in which sales increased by 13%. Adjusted EBIT for the nine-month period was down 15% to €249 million ($294m), helped by an 11% jump in the third quarter. Campari’s U.S. business was flat over the past nine months, but up 9% in the third quarter, with depletions growing by double-digits and outpacing shipments.…

New York-based Taub Family Cos. encompasses Palm Bay International, known for million-case players like Cavit and Roscato, as well as fine wine unit Taub Family Selections, housing a stable of higherend labels including Bertani, Fontanafredda, Planeta, Ferrari, Mastroberardino, Sella & Mosca, Trimbach, Jean-Luc Colombo, Champagne Boizel, Lafite Rothschild, Saget La Perriere, Greysac, Invivo, and Taub Family Vineyards, among many others. Impact managing editor Daniel Marsteller recently spoke with president and CEO Marc Taub to get an update on trends within the portfolio and the state of play in the U.S. wine market heading into the fall season. IMPACT: What key developments have you seen in the Palm Bay portfolio this year? Taub: Fortunately, we’ve seen tremendous resilience on the part of our biggest brands, including an exceptional acceleration for Cavit.…

STE. MICHELLE WINE ESTATES president and CEO Jim Mortensen retired on November 1. He has been replaced at the head of the Washington state winemaker by industry veteran David Dearie. Dearie was most recently founder and managing director of East Wind Consulting Pty Ltd., providing strategic, brand and financial advice to clients predominately in the wine and spirits sector. His career also includes leadership positions at Treasury Wine Estates where he served as CEO, and as managing director ANZ for Fosters Wine Group. Prior to that, he spent more than a decade in senior executive roles at Brown-Forman, including managing director of Brown-Forman Beverages for Western Europe and Africa, and as president and COO of Brown-Forman’s wine unit. Ste. Michelle saw first half revenues decline 12% to $277 million as…

PERNOD RICARD LAUDED A RESILIENT performance in the U.S. and China with bolstering its results in its fiscal first quarter ended in September, with those two markets recording sales growth of 6% and 4% respectively. With ongoing disruptions across global travel retail (-64%), India (-13%), and Europe (-5%), however, the drinks giant’s overall net sales fell 6% to €2.2 billion ($2.6b). The company said it expects the October-December period to “be strongly impacted by Covid-19, but sales to return to growth in H2.” Pernod noted that the strong off-premise environment has boosted U.S. sales in recent months, as well as the partial reopening of the on-premise, and that sell-in ahead of the holiday season has been solid, although marked by “adverse channel and category mix.” Pernod said Jameson saw good…

BACARDI LTD HAS NAMED company veteran Mauricio Vergara as president and COO of Patrón, as it looks to capitalize on surging growth for the Tequila category both in the U.S. and globally. Vergara will report directly to Bacardi CEO Mahesh Madhavan. Vergara will drive the company’s efforts to “accelerate growth in the well-established U.S. market, while leading expansion internationally where consumers are starting to discover and love premium Tequila.” Vergara was most recently managing director for Bacardi-Martini Australia and New Zealand, a post he held while also managing the integration of Patrón into the Bacardi fold following its 2018 acquisition in a deal valuing the Tequila giant at $5.1 billion. • Simon Hunt, who has led William Grant & Sons for nearly five years as chief executive, has stepped down…

WITH CONDITIONS SHIFTING BY THE DAY, 2020 HAS presented no shortage of challenges to the drinks industry. In many ways the pandemic has hastened changes that were already in progress—such as the accelerating role of e-commerce—while in others it has forced marketers to adapt to starkly different circumstances on the fly, as in the abrupt shift to the off-premise A wave of change is also underway at the executive level of top wine and spirits marketers. Pernod Ricard named Ann Mukherjee as its North America chairman and CEO to start off the year, a move that was followed by Debra Crew’s appointment as president of Diageo’s U.S. business this summer. Now, two more key players have made changes at the top. William Grant & Sons announced in recent days that…

ROBUST TRENDS IN THE TEQUILA AND RTD COCKTAIL CATEGORIES HELPED catapult Cuervo’s third quarter net sales to a half-billion dollars on a 48% increase. Volume leapt 26% to 6.6 million 9-liter cases, and operating income surged 169% to $147 million. North America, accounting for about 72% of net sales, was the key growth driver for the company, with the region posting 79% sales growth to $360 million on volume gains of 51% to 4.4 million cases. Cuervo credited the U.S. surge to “the strength of our largest brands within the region leading an acceleration in depletions and shipments, and the Mexican peso depreciation against the U.S. dollar on a year-over-year comparison.” Flagship brand Jose Cuervo Tequila saw global net sales climb 62% to $198 million in the third quarter on…

DIAGEO HAS AGREED TO ACQUIRE the U.K.’s Chase Distillery for an undisclosed sum. Chase is known for its Potato Vodka and Chase GB gin, as well as flavored gin offerings like Pink Grapefruit & Pomelo, Seville Marmalade, and Rhubarb & Bramley Apple Gin. The portfolio also includes Williams Elegant 48 Gin, made using 48 rare varieties of apple from 200-year-old orchards. Diageo says the Chase deal bolsters its range in the U.K.’s premium-plus gin segment, which has been growing by strong double-digits in recent years. The transaction is expected to close early next year.…

• KEN EVENSTAD, WHO MADE HIS fortune in the pharmaceutical business before building one of Oregon’s most prominent wineries, Domaine Serene, died at his home Oct. 21 after a long history of chronic pulmonary issues. He was 77. Oregon’s wine industry was young when Ken and his wife, Grace, arrived 31 years ago, looking for land to plant a vineyard. They settled on a 42-acre property on the southernmost peak of the Dundee Hills. The Evenstads grew the business over the years and today own 1,000 acres, with 300 planted to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. • BROWN-FORMAN HAS AGREED TO acquire Part Time Rangers Holdings Limited, based in New Zealand, for an undisclosed sum. Part Time Rangers produces spirit-based RTDs with all-natural fruit flavoring. The portfolio includes Lime Vodka, Passionfruit…