COVER STORY
I n th e same way my pa r en t s
emp o w er ed
me to ma k e d e c i s i o n s, I want ou r o w n pe o p l e to f e e l emp o w er ed t o o .
benefit from a rare set of circumstances, having three years to prepare for his eventual ascension to both chief executive and chairman (and possibly time to think of that third priority). “We [Pierre and I] really got along, and that
time enabled me to think hard about the future,” Ricard says.
Baring all Ricard’s arrival resulted in a strategic volte-face, realigning the company based on ‘moments of consumption’ rather than specific categories, and identifying ‘moments of conviviality’ that are cross- generational, like parties or ‘hanging out’, with the mantra that when it comes to alcohol, quality should be the focus, not quantity. There’s also been realignment of people and
marketing efforts around where a specific sub- brand ‘lives’—with brand marketing run by staff local to where production actually happens. Pernod Ricard is almost unique in the fact that
its brands are only made in their original locations (like Beefeater in London), and recipes are not copied and remade elsewhere in the world.
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CAMPDENFB.COM
Top: Alexandre Ricard says he wants to challenge his team to take risks
Strategic acquisitions have occurred in the first
years of Ricard’s tenure, including the purchasing of a majority stake in West Virginia-based whiskey maker Smooth Ambler. The young chief executive has not shied away from offloading brands deemed to be underperforming. These include a number of Mexican brandies early this year. A culture of innovation is furiously pursued.
Absolut Lime was launched after research found one in four cocktails had a citrus-based element to it. This spring-summer also sees Beefeater’s first foray into flavoured gin, with the launch of the strawberry-infused Beefeater Pink. He stripped naked with Absolut employees for
a new ad campaign for the “vodka with nothing to hide”. “What I think makes a difference is the mindset,”
says Ricard. “It’s like having two opposing sports teams.
Nine times out of 10, the technique, or the skills of these athletes will be the same, so to me the only factor that differentiates winning ones from losing ones is the mindset.
ISSUE 73 | 2018
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