SPI Group has announced the sale of Kremlyovskaya Vodka to the Classic International Group, established by a private financial trade group with a purpose to develop select alcoholic brands.
Classic International Group has already obtained a license to sell the brand in Russia from the State Enterprise “˜Torgoviy Dom Kremlevsky’, according to SPI Group.
SPI said the move is part of an overall global strategy to focus attention on its key international portfolio – at the core of which is Stolichnaya Premium Vodka – by divesting non-primary assets in line with the vision of SPI’s owner, Yuri Shefler.
In 2008 with the separation from Pernod Ricard, until then Stoli’s global distributor, SPI Group decided to take full control of the brand. More recently SPI Group has decided to further strengthen such control by setting up its own importing company in the US; the New York-based company was established earlier this year and will formally commence distribution on 1 January 2014.
SPI Group has owned Kremlyovskaya since 2003 and has secured the ownership of the trademark across nearly 200 countries throughout the world.
“Following the recent sale of our property development business in Russia, we continue to consolidate efforts on the core business and new exciting opportunities,”said SPI Group CEO Val Mendeleev. “The capital generated by the sale of the Kremlyovskaya brand will be deployed to acquire premium wine assets”.
Kremlyovskaya – also known as Kremly among its loyal consumers – was the first international post-perestroika premium Russian vodka, according to SPI Group. Created in the early 1990s, with a premium bottle designed by UK design studio Claessens, Kremlyovskaya sold over five million 9L cases at its peak. The Kremly brand today has a portfolio of distinctive flavours including plum, melon, grapefruit, chocolate, apricot, blackcurrant and vanilla.
Kremly’s “˜Toast of New Russia’ advertising campaign and frequent appearances on Fashion TV have cemented its positioning as a symbol of modern Russia, SPI Group said.
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Kremlyovskaya’s range of flavoured vodkas includes plum, melon, grapefruit, chocolate, apricot, blackcurrant and vanilla |
