Beam and Edrington announce new distribution agreement

The agreement will come into effect on March 31 2009, a day after Rémy-Cointreau plans to leave Maxxium. Pernod Ricard will withdraw Absolut vodka and other former V&S-owned brands from the Maxxium sales and distribution network at the beginning of next month.

The alliance, whose brands include Jim Beam bourbon, Courvoisier cognac, The Macallan and The Famous Grouse Scotch whiskies, will account for 90% of the sales now generated for Beam and Edrington through Maxxium with a value of over $1.5bn. The deal covers influential markets such as Southeast Asia, Spain, Russia, China and European travel-retail.

Beam will distribute both its own and Edrington’s brands in a further eight markets, which include Canada, New Zealand and Germany, while Edrington will handle both companies’ portfolios in six markets, including Norway, Sweden, Denmark and South Korea. Significantly, other markets, including travel-retail in the Americas and Asia/Pacific, will be handled by unspecified "third-party distribution arrangements".

In a joint statement, Beam Global Spirits & Wine president and CEO Tom Flocco and The Edrington Group CEO Ian Curle said: "We are delighted to announce our new alliance. It enables the collective strength of our combined and complementary portfolios of premium brands to flourish in a more efficient and responsive distribution vehicle. It will also build on the success of Maxxium by providing improved agility at a local level, with increased access to consumers. Importantly, the alliance drives value and growth in many of our main markets."

According to the IWSR Drinks Record, Edrington and Beam’s combined sales in travel-retail and duty-free in 2006 amounted to about 1.28m cases.