Pernod Ricard

Pernod Ricard S.A.

Type	Société Anonyme
Traded as	Euronext: RI
Industry	Drinks
Founded	1975 (1975)
Headquarters	Paris, France
Key people	Alexandre Ricard (Chairman & Chief Executive Officer)[1]
Products	Distilled beverages
Revenue	€7.643 billion (2010/2011)[2]
Operating income	€1.852 billion (2010/2011)[2]
Profit	€1.045 billion (2010/2011)[2]
Total assets	€25.70 billion (June 2011)[2]
Total equity	€9.474 billion (June 2011)[2]
Number of employees	18,230 (June 2011)[2]
Website	pernod-ricard.com

Pernod in a glass with water and ice

Pernod Ricard is a French company that produces distilled beverages. The company's eponymous products, Pernod Anise and Ricard Pastis, are both anise-flavoured liqueurs and are often referred to simply as Pernod or Ricard. The company also produces several other types of pastis.

After the banning of absinthe, Pernod Ricard was created from the Pernod Fils company, which had produced absinthe. It is now a worldwide conglomerate.

Pernod Ricard owns the distilled beverage division of the former corporation Seagram (including brands like Chivas Regal), along with many other holdings. In 2005, the company acquired a British-based competitor, Allied Domecq plc.

In 2008, Pernod Ricard announced its acquisition of Swedish-based V&S Group, which produces Absolut Vodka.

In 2013 Pernod Ricard joined leading alcohol producers as part of a producers' commitments to reducing harmful drinking.^[3]

As of 2015, India is the company's third largest market by value.^[4]

History

Pernod

• 1797 – Henri-Louis Pernod, a Swiss distiller, opened his first absinthe distillery in Switzerland.
• 1805 – Maison Pernod Fils (simply known as Pernod Fils) was founded in Pontarlier, Franche-Comté in eastern France by Henri-Louis Pernod and started the production of the anise-flavored liquor known as absinthe.
• 1850 – Henri-Louis Pernod died.
• 1871 – Distillerie Hémard was founded near Paris.
• 1872 – Société Pernod Père & Fils opened in Avignon.
• 1915 – Production and consumption of absinthe was prohibited in France.
• 1926 – All 3 distilleries merged to form Les Établissements Pernod.
• 1951 – Pastis 51 was launched.
• 1965 – Takeover of Distillerie Rousseau, Laurens et Moureaux, producer of the Suze liquor since 1889.

Ricard

• 1932 – Ricard, which soon became France's favourite long drink, was founded in Marseille by Paul Ricard.
• 1940 – Production of pastis was prohibited by the Vichy regime.
• 1944 – Production of pastis became legal again.
• 1968 – Paul Ricard retired; his son Patrick became CEO in 1978.

Pernod Ricard

• 1975 – Old rivals Pernod and Ricard merged to form Pernod Ricard S.A..
• 1988 – Pernod Ricard acquired Irish Distillers (which includes Jameson Irish whiskeys).
• 1989 – Pernod Ricard acquired Orlando Wyndham (makers of Jacob's Creek).
• 1993 – Pernod Ricard worked with Cuban companies to create Havana Club International.
• 2001 – Pernod Ricard purchased 38% of Seagram's Wines and Spirits business.
• 2005 – Pernod Ricard purchased Allied Domecq.
• 2008 – Pernod Ricard purchased V&S Group including the Absolut Vodka brand, from the Swedish government.^[5]

Subsidiaries

• Pernod Ricard Winemakers (Australia) – owner of Orlando Wines (incl. Jacob's Creek) and Wyndham Estate
• Pernod Ricard NZ – owner of Montana Wines
• Corby Distilleries - Canadian subsidiary; owner of Wiser's whisky, Lamb's rum; Hiram Walker & Sons Limited is majority shareholder of Corby and itself unit of Pernod Ricard
• Pernod Ricard Rouss - subsidiary in the Russian Federation
• Irish Distillers - Irish subsidiary
• Pernod Ricard Armenia - Armenian subsidiary and owner of Yerevan Brandy Company
• Pernaud Ricard Hellas – subsidiary in Greece^[6]
• Pernod Ricard India - Indian subsidiary
• Pernod Ricard Winemakers Spain - owner of Campo Viejo, Ysios, Tarsus, Aura, Azpilicueta, and Siglo wines

Brands

Head office of Pernod Ricard, 12 place des États-Unis, Paris, 16th arr.

Pernod Ricard owns a wide variety of beverage brands worldwide. These include:

As of 26 July 2005, the brand portfolio expanded to include former Allied Domecq products:

Pernod Ricard previously owned the non-alcoholic chocolate beverage Yoo-hoo, which was acquired from a group of private investors in 1989. Pernod Ricard also previously owned the carbonated citrus drink Orangina. Both brands were sold in 2001 to Cadbury Schweppes.^[7]

Controversies

Havana Club trademark conflict

The Havana Club brand was lost to its founders, the Arechabala family, due to the 1959 Cuban Revolution, and an ongoing legal battle opposes the claimed trademark owners in the US to the joint-venture between Pernod Ricard and the Cuban State-owned company Corporación Cuba Ron. The Havana Club trademark remains unchallenged elsewhere in the world, having been validated by court decisions in a number of countries other than the US.^[8][9][10]

Support of bullfighting in France

According to the NGO Alliance anticorrida, Pernod Ricard is the major funder of bullfighting in France,^[11][12] financing bullfighting clubs and sponsoring corridas despite the opposition of a majority of French citizens to blood sports.

See also

• Companies portal

References

Notes

External links

• Official website

CAC 40 companies of France (Last update 1st December 2016)
Accor Air Liquide Airbus Group ArcelorMittal AXA BNP Paribas Bouygues Capgemini Carrefour Crédit Agricole Danone Engie Essilor Kering Klépierre L'Oréal LafargeHolcim Legrand LVMH Michelin Nokia Orange Pernod Ricard Peugeot Publicis Renault Safran Saint-Gobain Sanofi Schneider Electric Société Générale Sodexo Solvay Technip Total Unibail-Rodamco Valeo Veolia Vinci Vivendi