News Briefs for October 17, 2013
October 17, 2013•Rémy Cointreau’s sales were down 3.6% to €558 million ($762m) on an organic basis in its fiscal first half, ended September 30, as continuing growth in the U.S. failed to offset significant declines in Asia. Rémy Martin Cognac was down 10.4% organically to €327 million ($446m) in the first half, despite good momentum in the U.S. Rémy characterized the falloff in Cognac sales in China as “a temporary slowdown … which does not in any way detract from the brand’s fundamentals, (nor) constrain Rémy Martin’s strategic and targeted investment in this region.” Rémy’s Liqueurs & Spirits division fared better, up 10% to €120 million ($164m), as Cointreau and Mount Gay rum contributed to U.S. growth and the Bruichladdich single malt Scotch, acquired a year ago, continued to expand within Rémy’s global distribution network.
•F. Korbel & Bros. has released its first new Korbel Brandy entry in more than a decade, Korbel 12. A limited edition entry, Korbel 12 is a handcrafted California brandy, distilled in a copper-lined still, aged for a minimum of 12 years and blended from select barrels. Just 1,800 six-bottle cases of the new offering will be available in key markets, priced at $39.99 a bottle. Korbel 12 joins the flagship Korbel California brandy, Korbel VSOP Gold Reserve and Korbel XS labels in the existing Korbel brandy portfolio.
•BevMo has appointed former Safeway executive Doug Ratto to the post of executive vice president, chief merchant. In his new position, Ratto—who was most recently senior vice president, general manager of Alcohol/Tobacco, Home Care/General Merchandise & Family Care at Safeway, will lead the buying, planning, allocations and distribution teams at BevMo, which has 145 stores across California, Arizona and Washington.
•Charmer Sunbelt has appointed Rick Slaughter vice president, business development-Brown Forman, effective January 2014. He will report directly to Charmer’s sales and marketing EVP Robert Catalani. Slaughter, who has more than 30 years of industry experience, most recently served as senior vice president, general sales manager for Charmer Sunbelt’s Reliable Churchill unit in Maryland.
•Massachusetts-based Privateer rum has expanded its reach via a new distribution partnership with New Jersey’s Winebow. Under the agreement, Winebow will handle Privateer in New York, New Jersey, Washington, D.C., and Illinois, bringing the rum brand’s total footprint to eight markets. Launched in 2011, Privateer’s rum portfolio includes its Privateer Silver Reserve and Privateer True American Amber expressions.
•Camus Cognac has released its new Family Legacy variant in the U.S. Created as a tribute to the Camus family’s five generations, Family Legacy is a blend of five crus from Grande Champagne, Petite Champage, Bon Bois, Fin Bois and the Borderies. Aged in French oak barrels, each of the crus are blended together in eight consecutive steps, from youngest to oldest, and then bottled at 40.8% abv. The specialty expression, which rolls out this month, will be available nationwide priced at $1,299 a bottle. The world’s fifth-largest Cognac brand in the world, Camus was up 13.5% to 400,000 cases globally last year, according to Impact Databank.
Subscribe to Shanken News Daily’s Email Newsletter, delivered to your inbox each morning.Tagged : BevMo, Camus Cognac, Charmer Sunbelt, F Korbel & Bros, Remy Cointreau, Remy Martin
