Pernod invests in African online retailer

Pernod Ricard has acquired a stake in African online retailer Jumia, allowing the French group to “strengthen its growth” on the continent.

Absolut maker Pernod Ricard has announced its strategic investment in African e-commerce platform Jumia

Under the deal, Pernod Ricard will share its knowledge of distribution networks in Africa, while Jumia will allow the drinks maker to “benefit from new opportunities” to extend its footprint in Africa, where its brands are currently present in 13 countries.

“Pernod Ricard has made Africa its new frontier, as shown by the successive openings of subsidiaries over the last few years,” said Gilles Bogaert, Pernod Ricard’s CEO of EMEA and LATAM.

“Our strategy is consumer-oriented and we strive to transform to strengthen our growth in this very promising continent. Jumia is a partner of choice as digital and e-commerce represent real strategic accelerators in this region for us.”

Absolut and Jameson maker Pernod Ricard will also be able to take advantage of Jumia Food, Jumia’s restaurant delivery platform, and Jumia Travel, the firm’s hotel booking platform that represents around 25,000 establishments.

Pernod first struck up a relationship with Jumia in 2014 with the launch of Jumia-Party, a platform centred around party consumption.

“This innovation has experienced solid growth in cities such as Lagos, Nairobi and Accra,” said Paul-Robert Bouhier, president of Pernod Ricard Sub-Saharan Africa.

“With this reinforced strategic partnership, Pernod Ricard will be able to offer its large portfolio of premium brands to a greater number of consumers in Africa.”

In the first quarter of its 2018/19 fiscal year, Pernod Ricard reported “strong” growth in Africa and the Middle East.