Bacardi appoints new MD for Australia and New Zealand

Luiz Schmidt will take over as Managing Director of Bacardi in Australia and New Zealand after more than two years in Panama working as Regional Marketing Director for Bacardi in Latin America and the Caribbean.

A University of Technology MBA graduate and FMCG marketing specialist with over 20 years of international experience, Schmidt will lead Bacardi’s sales, marketing, finance and supply chain functions, as well as expand the company’s premium portfolio and market share in the region.

Vijay Subramaniam, Regional President for Asia, Middle East & Africa and Global Travel Retail at Bacardi, said Schmidt is uniquely qualified to take over as Managing Director as a dual Australian and Brazilian national with a wealth of experience.

“The appointment of Luiz Schmidt as our new Managing Director marks an exciting chapter for Bacardi in Australia and New Zealand,” he said.

“Thanks to his extensive international experience leading both developed and emerging markets with the company and more broadly within the industry, Schmidt brings a deep and nuanced understanding of the global premium spirits market.”

Schmidt said he’s excited to return to Australia, where he’ll be based with his family and take charge of a talented team across Australia and New Zealand. “These markets are one of the most developed and attractive premium spirits markets in the world, offering Bacardi a tremendous opportunity to accelerate the growth of our iconic brands in close partnership with our customers and consumers,” he said.

Bacardi is the world’s largest privately held spirits company, and according to IWSR market share data, holds a leadership position across premium vodka, super premium tequila, premium gin and white rum globally.

Schmidt comes to the position with experience leading long-term marketing and business strategy in companies such as Brown-Forman and Edrington in Australia, USA, Brazil, Mexico and Latin America.

In his most recent role as Regional Marketing Director for Bacardi in Latin America and the Caribbean, Schmidt successfully transformed the region’s marketing and commercial execution functions and increased market share for brands including Patrón and Bombay Sapphire while co-led Bacardi ́s marketing transformation in Mexico, including the successful launch of Bacardi Mango Chile, which is now Mexico’s leading flavoured spirit.

According to the new data released in the Roy Morgan Alcohol Consumption Report the proportion of Australians who drink alcohol was at 67.6% in the 12 months to March 2023, up by 1.3% points since the pre-pandemic period in the 12 months to March 2020 (66.3%).

Key Findings

• In the year to March 2023 a total of 13,709,000 Australians (67.6%) aged 18+ consumed alcohol in an average four-week period compared to 13,073,000 (66.3%) in the year to March 2020 – an increase of well over 600,000 Australians.

• •The standout alcoholic beverages over the course of the pandemic have been ‘Ready-to-drink’ (RTDs) for which consumption increased from 2,138,000 Australians (10.8%) pre-pandemic up to 4,208,000 (20.8%) – a massive increase during the pandemic of over 2 million people.

• The most popular alcohol is wine which has stretched its lead during the pandemic with the number of Australians drinking wine increasing from 8,096,000 (41.0%) prepandemic to 8,898,000 (43.9%) in the 12 months to March 2023 – an increase of over 800,000 people.

• The spirits category enjoyed a clear ‘pandemic boost’ of over 1 million extra consumers and in the 12 months to December 2021 there were 6,759,000 (33.8%) of Australians drinking spirits, however this ‘boost’ has now receded. There are now 5,573,000 (27.5%) Australians drinking spirits, down slightly from 5,671,000 (28.7%) prepandemic.

Whilst the Wine and RTD’s categories drove the growth of alcohol consumption, the major category that hasn’t been able to arrest a long-term decline is the beer category. Although consumption of beer did increase during the early stages of the pandemic this momentum quickly dissipated, down from 37.6% of total sales to 32.2% (-1.2%).

Article Source: Roy Morgan Alcohol Consumption Report