 |
FRANCE/INTERNATIONAL. Mohit Lal, currently Managing Director of Pernod Ricard Travel Retail Asia, has been named Chairman & CEO of Pernod Ricard Global Travel Retail, a newly created position. The move is part of a wider restructure at the drinks group and is effective from 1 July.
Lal will manage the role overseeing Pernod Ricard’s global business in the channel as well as his existing position, and he will become a member of the group Executive Committee (COMEX).
The company said that the “creation of a CEO, Global Travel Retail, reporting directly to Headquarters, [would] reinforce coordination between the three Travel Retail regions (Europe, Americas and Asia) and the domestic Travel Retail teams, facilitate the rollout of best practices and improve the coherence of group initiatives in this priority distribution channel.”
 |
Mohit Lal: A newly created global travel retail position |
Lal has led Pernod Ricard Travel Retail Asia since last year. Before this he was Managing Director of Pernod Ricard India from 2011, and also served as Financial Director of Irish Distillers from 2006 to 2011.
In other moves, Pernod Ricard has “simplified” the Americas region to concentrate on its core business: the USA and Canada. The new entity will have a direct representative on COMEX, strengthening its focus on the USA, the group’s largest market.
It has also created two new management entities in Latin America aligned with the Pernod Ricard EMEA model. One includes Mexico as lead market, together with Venezuela, Colombia and Pernod Ricard Andes (Chile, Peru); the other with Brazil as lead market, together with Argentina and Uruguay.
These operational changes will entail the following executive transfers (in addition to the travel retail move):
Paul Duffy, currently Chairman & CEO of The Absolut Company and a member of the COMEX, is appointed Chairman & CEO of Pernod Ricard North America and CEO of Pernod Ricard USA. Philippe Dréano, the current Chairman & CEO of Pernod Ricard Americas, has decided to retire after 27 years with the group.
Bryan Fry, currently Managing Director, Pernod Ricard USA, is appointed Managing Director, Pernod Ricard Pacific and will report to the Chairman and CEO of Pernod Ricard Winemakers. He replaces Julien Hémard whose new appointment will be announced shortly.
Anna Malmhake, currently Chairman & CEO of Irish Distillers and a member of the COMEX, is appointed Chairman & CEO of The Absolut Company.
Jean-Christophe Coutures, currently Chairman & CEO of Pernod Ricard Winemakers and a member of the COMEX, is appointed Chairman & CEO of Irish Distillers.
Bruno Rain, currently Managing Director in charge of Group Human Resources & Corporate Social Responsibility and a member of the COMEX, is appointed Chairman & CEO of Pernod Ricard Winemakers.
Cédric Ramat, currently VP Human Resources for Pernod Ricard Americas, is appointed Human Resources and Corporate Social Responsibility Director and will become a member of the COMEX.
The two new Management Entities will be led by Noël Adrian, Managing Director of Pernod Ricard Mexico and Thibault Cuny, Managing Director of Pernod Ricard Brazil.
Following these changes, the Group’s Executive Committee will now include members of five different nationalities.
Chairman & CEO Alexandre Ricard said: “A company’s success depends above all on the women and men who bring it to life. Our group’s strength comes from these talents of diverse origins and backgrounds and our principle of global mobility, as illustrated by these organisational changes. In this spirit, I would like to pay tribute to Philippe Dréano for his unfailing commitment to our group’s development over the last 30 years.”
H1 performance
In other news, Pernod Ricard today revealed first-half figures, with sales hitting €4,598 million. Reported sales growth was +7% with a favourable foreign exchange impact, with organic sales climbing +3% year-on-year.
In the Americas there was an acceleration of growth, +4% versus +2% in FY14/15, notably driven by the USA (+3% in H1 15/16 versus stable in FY14/15.).
Asia/Rest of World sales rose by +5% (+4% adjusting for an earlier Chinese New Year) and there was double-digit growth in India, Africa/Middle East and Australia. China sales dipped by -2%, -8% adjusting for the earlier Chinese New Year, and continuing the trends observed in Q1. The company noted difficulties in Korea and Travel Retail Asia.
 |
In Europe, there was improvement of +1%, driven by Spain and UK, with encouraging growth in most markets. There were declines in France and Russia, in part due to technical impacts.
The group noted growth across its Top 14 brands, priority premium wines and key local brands. It highlighted strong performances from Jameson, Martell, The Glenlivet, Perrier-Jouët, Mumm and Indian whiskies.
But it also cited difficulties for Chivas (due to Asia and Travel Retail) and Absolut (but improving underlying trends in USA)
H1 15/16 profit from recurring operations was €1.438 million, with solid organic growth of +3% (+2% adjusted for Chinese New Year timing) and +6% reported.
Reported group share of net profit from recurring operations was €909 million, +9% compared to H1 14/15. Reported group share of net profit overall was €886 million, +12% compared to H1 14/15.
Alexandre Ricard said: “Our half year results are solid, delivering a continued improvement in sales. Our strategy has remained consistent and is driving results, in particular in terms of innovation.
“For full year FY15/16, in a still contrasted macroeconomic environment, we plan to continue improving our business performance year-on-year versus FY 14/15. We will continue to support priority markets, brands and innovations while focusing on operational excellence. We expect to deliver organic growth in Profit from Recurring Operations in line with the guidance of +1% to +3%.”
 |
Click on the above to view the enlarged image |
