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Beam Global Spirits & Wine Announces Steps to Enhance Organization And Fuel GrowthOctober 19, 2009 CONTACTS:
Paula Erickson
Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc.
847- 444-7590
Clarkson Hine
Fortune Brands
847 - 484-4415
Beam Global Spirits & Wine Announces Steps to Enhance Organization And Fuel Growth
Deerfield, Ill. - October 19, 2009– Beam Global Spirits & Wine, the premium spirits business of Fortune Brands (NYSE: FO), today announced the logical next steps in its ongoing initiatives to strengthen the long-term performance of its brands and promote organizational effectiveness and efficiency. In addition to further building a high-performance organization that will enable faster decision-making and sharper focus on customers and consumers, the initiatives will also unlock resources that can be reinvested in driving brand growth.
Beam Global’s U.S. commercial marketing function is aligning into three integrated, cross-functional category business teams focused on consumer buying categories: Bourbon (a category where Beam Global is the world leader), Mixables (including rum, tequila, vodka and cordials) and Classics (including cognac, Scotch and Canadian whisky). Each category business team will bring together the brand management, trade marketing, finance, operations and human resources functions into a single unit with its own profit-and-loss responsibility.
Additionally, to bring the organization closer to customers and enhance speed to market, the U.S. sales organization will transition from its current regional configuration to an alignment based on three main distributor groups – Southern Wine & Spirits; Other Independent Distributors, including Glazer’s and Republic National Distributing Company; and Control States. The U.S. category business teams and sales organization will report to Bill Newlands, president of Beam Global’s U.S. business.
Internationally, Beam Global will create a focused pan-European region by uniting its two current European regions. The result will be an international organization aligned into three business teams based on geography – Europe, Asia/Pacific, and Emerging Markets/Travel Retail – each with its own profit-and-loss responsibility. The international units report to Donard Gaynor, senior vice president and managing director – international.
“Implementing better ways of working to sharpen the focus of the organization is the logical next step in the evolution of Beam Global,” said Matt Shattock, who became president and chief executive officer of Beam Global in April. “We’ve successfully developed our next-generation routes to market, including a wholly-owned sales organization in the U.S. We’ve developed a compelling vision of ‘Building Brands People Want to Talk About,’ and we’ve enhanced our new product development program. The steps we’re now taking will build on that progress and make the organization more effective and efficient, while freeing up resources that we’ll reinvest to grow our brands. Taken together, these steps will better enable Beam Global to drive our biggest brands and best market opportunities.”
About Beam Global Spirits & Wine
Inspiring conversations around the world, Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc. is building brands people want to talk about. Consumers from all corners of the globe call for our brands, including Jim Beam® Bourbon, Sauza® Tequila, Canadian Club® Whisky, Courvoisier® Cognac, Maker's Mark® Bourbon, Laphroaig® Scotch Whisky, Cruzan® Rum, EFFEN® Vodka, Larios® Gin, Whisky DYC®, Teacher's® Scotch Whisky, DeKuyper® Cordials and Liqueurs and Knob Creek® Bourbon. Beam Global Spirits & Wine is part of Fortune Brands, Inc. (NYSE:FO), a leading consumer brands company recently named one of the World’s Most Admired Companies by Fortune magazine. For more information on Beam Global Spirits & Wine, its brands, and its commitment to social responsibility, visit www.beamglobal.com and www.drinksmart.com
Drink smart.
© 2009 Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc., Deerfield, Ill.
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