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just-drinks.com editor's weekly highlights | |
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It seems prevarication is the word of the month in St. Louis. It's now 11 days since InBev tabled its offer for Anheuser-Busch, and all we've had coming out of the US company's head office is a “no comment” or two. The most we got was today (23 June), when A-B confirmed its board has discussed the matter, but that no decision has been taken. Yet. Late last week, however, a minor bombshell. The resignation of Grupo Modelo's CEO from A-B's board can surely only be read one way – that the Mexican brewer is not keen on being a pawn between the two behemoths. Speculation – met with silence from A-B, of course – has suggested that the US company is looking to acquire the remaining 50% of Modelo. As a poison pill, it looks like a pretty desperate move, made all the less likely to succeed by Carlos Fernandez's resignation last week. The next few days should see a decision either way coming from A-B's headquarters. Rest assured, we'll be the first to let you know what that decision is. Elsewhere on just-drinks, we have quite a special interview from May, when I met with both the CEO & chairman and managing director of Pernod Ricard in Russia. Click here for a look at what Patrick Ricard has to say about his impending retirement and Pierre Pringuet's plans for when he takes the helm. The jet-setting and the boss-meeting doesn't stop there, however. Coming up in a couple of weeks time, we have an exclusive interview with Jørgen Buhl Rasmussen, CEO of Carlsberg. I met Rasmussen last week, when, just before the France v Italy Euro 2008 game, he showed his head in hospitality and joined us at our table. Happy to give me a few moments of his time, Rasmussen's approach was a refreshing reminder of how some in the industry view the media – and stands in stark contrast to one global company's refusal to give us 15 minutes with their CEO because: “If he did one interview, then he'd have to do loads”. Until next time... Olly Wehring, Managing Editor Web: www.just-drinks.com
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The just-drinks interview – Patrick Ricard and Pierre Pringuet [MEM] Pernod Ricard’s purchase of Absolut is the latest of three colossal deals that have transformed the company into one of the giants of the global drinks stage. A timely moment therefore to speak with two men who have done more than anyone to shape Pernod’s progress. In what is by any measure a special just-drinks interview, Olly Wehring met Patrick Ricard, Pernod Ricard’s charismatic chairman and CEO, and managing director Pierre Pringuet, who takes over as CEO when Ricard steps down in November, to discuss the future for Absolut, for Pernod Ricard and what the group’s journey means to Ricard, who has been there from the group’s creation in 1975.
The Power 100 – the world’s most powerful spirits and wine brands This month's briefing is the 2008 edition of "The Power 100", published by leading consultancy Intangible Business, which looks at the key issues affecting the wines and spirits industry and identifies the brands which have performed well - and those that have experienced difficulties over the past year. This annual report, into the most powerful spirits and wine brands in the world, takes into account the consumer's perception of brand strength and its financial performance, using a robust methodology. A panel of leading international drinks experts are asked to score each brand on a variety of measures and these scores are combined with hard volume data to create a league table of the most powerful international drinks brands in the world.
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June 23, 2008 
