New De Kuyper chief eyes acquisitions
New De Kuyper CEO Mark de Witte says his company is “looking to acquisitions” as it seeks to “own the cocktail”.
Mark De Witte says De Kuyper is now looking to acquire spirits brands.Speaking exclusively to The Spirits Business, de Witte said that part of his strategic vision for the company was to develop “ownership” of the cocktail, in terms of both liqueurs and base spirits.
In order to grow the business so that both categories had a 50:50 representation, de Witte said it was now time to consider a base spirit acquisition.
“We are interested in vodka, rum, Bourbon,” he said, indicating that depending on the size of the target, De Kuyper could be ready to acquire “from now”.
De Witte joined De Kuyper’s board in June, before stepping up as CEO on 1 September. He joined the company from Bacardi Germany where was CEO post, as well as the managing director position for DACH & Nordics. He has also held executive-level positions at Bacardi UK, Bacardi Netherlands, and UK distribution subsidiary Bacardi Brown-Forman.
See the November 2015 issue of The Spirits Business magazine for the full interview.
