PH liquor firm eyes a third of global market

Screengrab from https://www.emperadorbrandy.com/

MANILA, Philippines—Tycoon Andrew Tan-led liquor firm Emperador Inc., which has been acquiring assets in Spain since last year, has set a bold goal of controlling about a third of global market share in brandy in four years.

In a statement on Tuesday, Emperador assistant vice president for sales Dominador Hidalgo said the company was already enjoying a “very dominant” position in the Philippines, particularly in Metro Manila, where seven out of 10 liquor bottles sold are Emperador.

“We are also experiencing robust growth in the southern islands of Visayas and Mindanao. Last year, we managed to sell 33 million cases nationwide. We are very excited about our continued growth in the first few months of this year,” he said.

“We are also setting our sights abroad, where we target to own 33 percent of the world’s brandy market within four years. Our P5.8-billion investment in Spain will help us achieve our vision to be a major brandy producer in the world, further elevating the status of Emperador as a strong global brand,” Hidalgo said.

Emperador was among the companies honored in FinanceAsia’s 14th annual poll of “best companies” in the Philippines. The company landed among the top 10 Philippine companies in two categories: “best corporate governance” and “most committed to a strong dividend policy.”

In Spain, the company recently scaled up its offshore business by buying a 50-percent stake in integrated brandy producer Bodega Las Copas S.L., a unit of Spanish sherry bodega González Byass, for P3.7 billion.

Bodega Las Copas’ operations in brandy-making run the full scale with its vineyard near Toledo, its distillery plant in Tomelloso, Ciudad Real and its Las Copas brandy production premises in Jerez.

Emperador first gained a foothold in Spain early last year with the acquisition of Bodega San Bruno S.A., a brandy company based in Jerez. It afterwards boosted overseas production capability with the acquisition of 409 hectares of vineyard land in Madrid, bringing close to 1,000 hectares its vineyard landbank in Spain.

Originally posted: 3:51 pm | Tuesday, March 25th, 2014

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