Jim Beam Brands unveils new travel-retail division

Joe Bates

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The liquor supplier has built a new travel-retail team to handle its newly-widened portfolio of brands

Jim Beam Brands Global Travel Retail (GTR) has announced an expanded team of marketing and sales professionals following parent company Fortune Brands' £2.8bn ($5bn) acquisition of more than 20 spirits and wine brands from Pernod Ricard this June.

Managing director global travel-retail and developing markets Rupert Patrick will head the expanded division. He is joined by several ex-Allied Domecq employees, including account manager UK and Ireland Robert Carter; account manager for the Nordic region, Benelux, France, Spain and Greece Rudy Leentjes; account manager for Germany, Russia and Eastern Europe Thomas Dieckert; and trade marketing manager Amy Neville-Eliot.

Patrick commented: "I am delighted that we have been able to build our global travel-retail team with some very talented individuals from Allied Domecq, who bring with them a keen understanding of the history and heritage of our new brands and a clear customer focus."

The team will work closely with its global distribution partner Maxxium to support its expanded portfolio, which now includes Sauza tequila, Canadian club whisky, Maker's Mark bourbon, Harveys sherry and Cockburn's port, as well as existing brands Jim Beam bourbon and Aftershock liqueur.

Scotch whisky brands Laphroaig and Teacher's and Courvoisier cognac will be handled directly by Jim Beam Brands' global travel-retail team with the assistance in the key Nordic region of a newly-established agency Interbrands, which will be headed by ex-Allied employees Casper Freddie and Jacob Hertz.

Fortune Brands is now the fourth-biggest spirits company in the world following the acquisition, which boosted the percentage of its case volumes sold in international markets from approximately 25% to 45%.