Bacardi buys Grey Goose
Bermuda-based Bacardi, the #4 distilled spirits company, bought super-premium US vodka brand Grey Goose, for the stunning (estimated) price of $2 billion. Super- premium vodkas are a fairly new category, and are dominated by Grey Goose and Absolut brands. Costing as much as $30 a bottle, trendy Grey Goose is a big moneymaker.
But vodka is still vodka. The difference between French-distilled Grey Goose and routine no-name vodka is less than it would be for gin or whiskey of comparable prices. Grey Goose has been the beneficiary of clever and agressive marketing to hip 20-somethings and a set of flavorings that cover up the fact that this is essentially plain old ethyl alcohol.
Grey Goose was introduced in 1997 by a small Iiquor importer, Sidney Frank Importing. It's a classic case of a small company getting a temporary market advantage in the market and then selling out to a company with major market presence. Other vendors are rushing into the super-premium segment, and the notion of international expansion and brand extension is a natural for Bacardi, which already has the best-selling rum family in the world by far.
Rumors are strong that family-held Bacardi will soon hold an IPO, The company is having trouble keeping up with the other liquor distillers, all of which have expanded greatly in the past few years. Diageo, Allied Domecq, and Pernod-Ricard have expanded their holdings. Bacardi needs an infusion of new capital to compete.
Bacardi brands
Rum Bacardi
Scotch Dewar's
Gin Bombay Turquoise
Vodka Turi
Tequila Cazadores Blue Agave
Vermouth Martini & Rossi
Liqueur Amaretto DiSaronno, B&B, Benedictine
Beer Hatuey
5:16:58 PM 
|
|
