Pernod Ricard has announced that it will merge its two French businesses, Ricard and Pernod into a single company to regain market share in France. The move resembles similar restructures that have taken place in the US and China divisions and will take effect from 1 July 2020.
The project termed Reconquer is in line with the company’s three-year strategic plan, Transform and Accelerate, which was implemented by the group across all its markets worldwide.
According to Pernod Ricard, its two French distribution subsidiaries have become overly complex and lack agility. Group sales have declined by €60 million in two years, which the company has determined is due to deflationary pressure and the recent impact of the Egalim Law, a new set of enhanced food and drink regulations.
As a result, the French model will undertake a structural change that will allow the company to be the first to seize all growth opportunities across all distribution channels. The single network is to be called Pernod Ricard France and intends to win back consumers with a unified portfolio, better serve its customers, and unite its employees with a more streamlined organisation.
By combining the subsidiaries into a single entity, approximately 280 roles will become open to voluntary redundancy, mainly affecting the sales and marketing departments. Around 90 new roles will be created to support the new strategy.
With its development, the company has proposed to sell its sparkling wine brand Café de Paris and the Cubzac production site to InVivo Wine, the wine division of the French agricultural cooperative. The deal will be completed with a guarantee to safeguard the jobs of the site’s 29 employees.
Philippe Coutin, chairman of both Ricard and Pernod, said: “This project will be the product of several months of teamwork. We are entering into a phase of collaboration with management and unions – we hope this phase will be as responsible and interactive as possible.
“Throughout our history, the companies Ricard and Pernod have managed to evolve and reinvent themselves to continue the entrepreneurial adventure embarked upon by our founders. We have always succeeded together and together we will rise to this challenge.”
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