Deerfield, Illinois, United States
Following Remy Cointreau's announcement today that it will leave the Maxxium distribution joint venture as of March 30, 2009, Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc. (Fortune Brands, Inc. (NYSE:FO)) reaffirmed its confidence in Maxxium.
"We do not expect Remy Cointreau's eventual departure from Maxxium to have a material adverse impact on our results or those of our parent company, Fortune Brands," said Tom Flocco, president and CEO of Beam Global Spirits & Wine.
"As Maxxium has indicated, the Maxxium partners have plenty of time to successfully manage the transition. It's important to recognize that Remy Cointreau's brands account for only about 15% of Maxxium's case volume, and their volume is even smaller in Beam Global's most important global markets. Even without Remy Cointreau's brands, Maxxium will be significantly larger than it was when the alliance was created with three partners in 1999."
"Given the combined strengths of our recently enhanced portfolio and the brands of V&S Group and The Edrington Group, we're confident Maxxium will continue to be an important asset in providing both effective and efficient market access for our brands in many key markets around the world," Flocco concluded.
Maxxium Worldwide is the premium spirits and fine wines distribution joint venture among Remy Cointreau, Beam Global Spirits & Wine, The Edrington Group and V&S Group. It was established in 1999 and expanded to include V&S Group in 2001, and operates in most major spirits markets outside the United States.
About Beam Global Spirits & Wine
Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc. is the fourth largest spirits company in the world. With nine of the world's top-100 premium spirits in its portfolio, the company's brands hold global and national leadership positions in key categories, including Jim Beam(R) bourbon; Canadian Club(R) Canadian whisky; Courvoisier(R) cognac; Laphroaig(R) Scotch; Sauza(R) tequila; Larios(R) gin; Whisky DYC(R); Teacher's(R) Scotch; and DeKuyper(R) cordials. The portfolio also includes Maker's Mark(R) bourbon, Knob Creek(R) bourbon and The Small Batch Bourbon Collection(R), and Starbucks(TM) Liqueurs. Beam Wine Estates is a top-five super-premium wine company in the U.S., featuring Clos du Bois(R), the number two super-premium U.S. wine brand, and the award-winning Geyser Peak(R) wines. Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc. is part of Fortune Brands, Inc. (NYSE:FO), a $8 billion leading consumer brands company. For more information on Beam Global Spirits & Wine and the company's sales and distribution partners, please visit www.beamglobal.com.
(C) 2006 Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc., Deerfield, IL.
CONTACT: Beam Global Spirits & Wine Chris Swonger 202-962-0551 chris.swonger@beamglobal.com or Fortune Brands Clarkson Hine 847-484-4415 clarkson.hine@fortunebrands.com
Source: Business Wire (Business Wire India)