Moët Hennessy-Campari venture takes on e-commerce

Drinks firms Campari Group and Moët Hennessy have entered into a partnership to build a premium European e-commerce business for wines and spirits.

The joint venture will revolve around Tannico, Campari Group’s online retailer for wines and premium spirits. The two companies plan to transform the platform into a major e-commerce player across the European market.

Through the deal, Campari has agreed to sell 50% of the joint venture’s equity capital to Moët Hennessy for €25.6m (US$30.3m).

Tannico already claims around 30% of the European e-commerce wines and premium spirits market, according to a statement issued by Moët Hennessy and Campari. It is also the majority shareholder in Ventealapropriete.com, a significant e-commerce player in France. Last year, the businesses generated combined sales of more than €70m (US$82.9m).

The venture will be led by Tannico’s current CEO, Marco Magnocavallo.

“With the joint backing of Moët Hennessy and Campari, Tannico will have the firepower to consolidate the fragmented European e-commerce sector and offer a qualitative, sizeable and integrated route to market option catering to the needs of all its wines and spirits suppliers,” Magnocavallo said.

Tapping into ‘e-commerce momentum’

With this new partnership, both Campari Group and Moët Hennessy aim to take advantage of the expansion of the e-commerce market brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Bob Kunze-Concewitz, CEO of Campari Group, said: “We are very pleased to partner with Moët Hennessy to become a premium pan-European wines and spirits e-commerce player through Tannico.

“After the completion of Tannico’s first transformational step with the acquisition of Ventealapropriete.com, thanks to this agreement, the new partnership aims to continue to grow, further strengthening its footprint and expertise in the online retailing of spirits and wines.”

While Campari Group’s sales dropped 24% in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Aperol owner saw its net sales increase by 17.9% in the first quarter of 2021 – growth that Kunze-Concewitz credited in part to “e-commerce momentum”.

Likewise, Philippe Schaus, president and CEO of Moët Hennessy, said the pandemic “triggered a significant acceleration” of e-commerce channels.

“This partnership represents a significant step forward in our global e-commerce development strategy,” Schaus commented.

“We are delighted to be partnering with Campari Group and Tannico to create a premium pan-European wines and spirits e-commerce player.”

The wine and spirits division of LVMH also saw sales plummet as a result of the pandemic, experiencing a 14% drop, but managed to recover in the first quarter of 2021, with revenue rising by 36%.

In May, Campari Group created a new super-premium-and-above division in the US.