Pernod Ricard is ‘not done in Bourbon’

Pernod Ricard’s CEO has hinted that the group may consider future acquisitions in the American whiskey market following its purchase of Smooth Ambler.

Speaking to The Spirits Business recently, Alexandre Ricard said: “Just because we have one Bourbon brand, it doesn’t mean it’s done and that we are not going to look at other brands.”

Pernod Ricard completed its acquisition of West Virginia-based “craft” whiskey maker Smooth Ambler in January this year, marking the French group’s return to the American whiskey market following the sale of Wild Turkey to Gruppo Campari in 2009.

Ricard also said he had no regrets about the sale of Wild Turkey, as the group was at the time “sub-scale in the US” and so needed to focus its efforts behind Absolut vodka, which it acquired in 2008.

“We’re not under any type of pressure for a ‘must-have’ acquisitions now that we have done Absolut,” continued Ricard.

“What we like to do, and what we have been doing over the last few years, and are going to keep on doing for the next years to come, are bolt-on acquisitions. Bolt-on acquisitions of products or brands we believe perfectly fit our strategy, with a US bias.

“[W]hile at the same time [we will consider] disposing of non-core products or brands that are in segments that we don’t believe are attractive to us, or are in segments where we already have many brands.”

In December last year, Pernod Ricard sold its Domecq portfolio of brandies and wines to Bodega Las Copas for an undisclosed sum. The group also offloaded its Paddy Irish Whiskey brand to Sazerac.

Following months of speculation, Pernod Ricard confirmed its move into the mezcal category earlier this month with the acquisition of Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal – the category leader in the US.

To read our full interview with Alexandre Ricard, see the June 2017 issue of The Spirits Business magazine, out now.