News Alert: Pernod Ricard Names William Grant Exec Paul Basford As U.S. CCO
November 7, 2024Pernod Ricard USA has appointed industry veteran Paul Basford as chief commercial officer, reporting to Conor McQuaid, chairman and CEO of Pernod Ricard North America.
Basford, who’s been in the drinks business for two decades, was most recently president and managing director, USA, at William Grant & Sons. Prior to that, he held senior roles with Danone Waters of America, Britvic Soft Drinks, and Diageo, where he’s credited with expanding market share, driving high-performance teams, and leading innovation.
In his new role, Pernod said Basford is tasked with “defining and executing our commercial vision and strategy to build our portfolio and ignite topline growth. He will be focused on our commercial planning and execution, driving commercial transformation, while supporting our talent development agenda aligned with our long-term priorities.”
According to Impact Databank, Pernod Ricard ranked seventh among all spirits marketers in the U.S. last year in volume terms at 15.8 million cases. U.S. sales were down 10% for the three months through September, partially impacted by destocking, with sell-out value tracking at -5%. Pernod said Jameson’s performance was comparable to its competition and that the U.S. spirits market is still normalizing after the pandemic boom. For fiscal 25 in full, Pernod expects to see some improvements to its sell-out, though the company expects those improvements to be gradual.
Basford joined William Grant USA in 2021. Last year, on a pro forma basis—including recent additions Famous Grouse and Naked Malt—the William Grant USA portfolio had volume of 3.36 million cases. Volume rose 3.4% in control states this year through September, outpacing the market.
In a statement to SND, William Grant said, “William Grant & Sons is fully committed to building on the strong foundations for continued growth in the USA alongside our partners, customers and consumers in the months and years ahead. As part of his broader responsibilities, Badri Narasimhan, Chief Officer, Network Distribution Companies, has assumed direct leadership responsibility for the U.S. market with immediate effect while the process to recruit Paul Basford’s successor is completed. Paul joined William Grant & Sons at a critical time, overseeing an important period of growth for the U.S. business and leaves with our best wishes for the future.”–Daniel Marsteller
| Pernod Ricard—Key Spirits in the U.S. (thousands of 9-liter cases) |
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| Brand | Type/Origin | 2023 U.S. Volume1 |
Control States’ Volume Growth 2024 YTD2 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jameson3 | Irish Whiskey | 3,941 | -3.6% | |||
| Absolut3 | Imported Vodka | 2,796 | -3.2% | |||
| Malibu3 | Imported Rum | 2,565 | -8.4% | |||
| Kahlua | Imported Liqueur | 929 | -3.1% | |||
| Skrew Ball | Flavored Whiskey | 489 | -12.5% | |||
| Malibu RTDs | Pre-Mixed Cocktails | 469 | 11.7% | |||
| The Glenlivet | Single Malt Scotch | 445 | -12.0% | |||
| Absolut RTDs | Pre-Mixed Cocktails | 425 | 54.6% | |||
| Beefeater | Imported Gin | 385 | * | |||
| Olmeca Altos | Tequila | 305 | 0.1% | |||
| Chivas Regal | Blended Scotch | 205 | -5.3% | |||
| Jefferson’s | American Whiskey | 161 | -7.2% | |||
| Jameson RTDs | Pre-Mixed Cocktail | 154 | 35.4% | |||
| Codigo 1530 | Tequila | 76 | 44.7% | |||
| Total Key Spirits4 | 13,346 | -2.9% | ||||
| * Less than 0.05% increase. 1 Thousands of 9-liter case depletions. 2 Year-to-date through August 3 Includes flavors; excludes RTDs 4 Addition of columns may not agree due to rounding. Source: NABCA & IMPACT DATABANK © 2024 |
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Tagged : Pernod Ricard, William Grant & Sons
