World Brands to become Pernod Ricard World Trade

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Exclusive: By John Rimmer

World Brands Duty Free is to be renamed Pernod Ricard World Trade once the deal to buy Seagram's drinks business has been approved.

The new division will be headed by Gilles Cambournac, who is World Brands chairman and ceo.

Speaking exclusively to DFNI, Pernod Ricard joint managing director Richard Burrows said he hoped the deal would be concluded by year end, despite objections by the Federal Trade Commission in the US.

Burrows said: "Our objective is securing the good relations Seagram had with world operators. We don't want to disturb what Seagram has done.

"Our duty-free business was decimated by abolition, but the Seagram deal will give us a much stronger business in Asia and the Americas, where we have been weak. The devolved structure of Pernod Ricard World Trade will reflect our new brand strength."

• A full interview with Burrows will appear in the next issue of Duty-Free News International.