Diageo plc

Type	Public limited company
Traded as	LSE: DGE, NYSE: DEO
Industry	Beverages
Founded	1997 (London)
Headquarters	Park Royal, London, United Kingdom
Key people	Franz Humer (Chairman) Paul Walsh (CEO)
Products	Alcoholic beverages: beer, wine and spirits
Revenue	£13.232 billion (2011)[1]
Operating income	£2.595 billion (2011)[1]
Net income	£2.017 billion (2011)[1]
Employees	20,000 (2011)[2]
Website	Diageo

Diageo plc /diːˈɑːʒiːoʊ/^{[dubious – discuss][3]} (LSE: DGE, NYSE: DEO) is a British multinational alcoholic beverages company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest producer of spirits and a major producer of beer and wine.^[4][5]

Diageo's brands include Smirnoff (the world's best-selling vodka),^[6] Johnnie Walker (the world's best-selling Scotch whisky),^[7] Baileys (the world's best-selling liqueur)^[8] and Guinness (the world's best-selling stout).^[9][10] It is also the exclusive international distributor of José Cuervo (the world's best-selling tequila)^[11] and owns 34% of Moët Hennessy, which owns brands including Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot and Hennessy.^[12][13] It sells its products in over 180 countries and has offices in around 80 countries.^[14][15]

Diageo has its primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It had a market capitalisation of approximately £34.5 billion as of 23 December 2011, making it the 12th-largest company on the London Stock Exchange.^[16] It has a secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange.

History[link]

Diageo was formed in 1997 from the merger of Guinness and Grand Metropolitan.^[17] The creation was driven by the executives Anthony Greener and Philip Yea at Guinness^[18] plus George Bull and John McGrath of Grand Metropolitan.^[19]

Diageo owned Pillsbury until 2000 when it was sold to General Mills.^[20] In 2002, Diageo sold the Burger King fast food restaurant chain to a consortium led by US firm Texas Pacific for $1.5 billion.^[21]

In May 2012 Diageo agreed to acquire Ypioca, the largest-selling brand of premium cachaça in Brazil, for £300 million.^[22]

Operations[link]

A pint of Guinness

Diageo global Crown Royal supply plant, Gimli, Manitoba, Canada

Diageo is the holding company for some of the most recognisable{[cn}} alcohol brands, including:^[23]

• Beer: Guinness, Tusker, Smithwick's, Red Stripe, Harp Lager, Kilkenny, Kaliber (non alcoholic), Windhoek
• Scotch whisky: Johnnie Walker, Buchanan's, Cardhu, Justerini & Brooks (J&B), Bell's, Black & White, Caol Ila, Vat 69, Oban, Talisker, Lagavulin, Glen Ord, Glenkinchie, Dalwhinnie, Cragganmore, Singleton, Haig, Royal Lochnagar, Glen Elgin, Knockando, The Dimple Pinch
• Vodka: Smirnoff, Cîroc, Silent Sam, Popov, Ketel One
• Gin: Gordon's, Tanqueray, Gilbey's, Booth's, Nolet's Gin
• Rum: Captain Morgan, Bundaberg, Pampero, Cacique, Myers', Zacapa
• Bourbon: Bulleit
• Canadian whisky: Crown Royal, Seagram's
• Irish whiskey: Bushmills
• Tennessee whiskey: George Dickel
• Schnapps: Black Haus, Goldschläger, Rumple Minze
• Baijiu: Shui Jing Fang
• Mixed drinks: José Cuervo Authentic & Golden Margaritas, Archers, Pimm's, Jeremiah Weed, Smirnoff Cocktails
• Liqueur: Baileys, Sheridans, Yukon Jack, Godiva
• Wines: Sterling Vineyards, Beaulieu Vineyard, Chalone, Piat d'Or, Blossom Hill, Canoe Ridge Vineyard, Acacia, Moon Mountain, Dynamite, Provenance Vineyards, Hewitt Vineyard, Rosenblum and Navarro Correas.

Diageo is the world's biggest whisky producer with 28 malt distilleries and two grain distilleries. The company operates the Scotch whisky distilleries^[24] of Auchroisk, Benrinnes, Blair Athol (situated at Pitlochry), Caol Ila, Cardhu, Knockando, Glen Elgin, Clynelish, Cragganmore, Dalwhinnie, Glenkinchie, Glen Ord, Lagavulin, Oban, Royal Lochnagar, Strathmill, Talisker, Teaninich, Mannochmore, Mortlach and Glenlossie, which are sold not only under their own name but used to make the various blended Scotch whiskies sold by the company, and owns the stock of many closed distilleries such as Port Ellen, Rosebank, Brora, Convalmore, Glen Albyn, North Brechin, Banff, and Linlithgow. The company has opened a new malt distillery adjacent to their maltings at Roseisle (1st new make spirit produced Spring 2009). This will be one of the largest malt distilleries in Scotland. The new building contains 14 traditional copper pot stills. An expansion programme is also underway at its Cameron Bridge Grain Distillery in Fife that will make it the largest grain distillery in Scotland. Diageo previously owned the Port Dundas Grain Distillery in Glasgow prior to its closure and demolition in 2010, and jointly operates the North British Grain Distillery in Gorgie, Edinburgh, with The Edrington Group.

Diageo also distributes Unicum, its lighter-bodied variant Zwack, and Jose Cuervo tequila products in North America. However, Cuervo operates as a separate company in Mexico and is not owned by Diageo. Similarly, Grand Marnier is distributed by Diageo in many markets, including exclusively in Canada, and a deal was reached in 2009 to expand significantly this partnership in Europe.

Furthermore, Diageo owns the Gleneagles Hotel and a 34% stake in the Moet Hennessy drinks division of French luxury goods company LVMH.^[25]

Head office[link]

Diageo's head office is in Park Royal, London Borough of Brent,^[26][27] on a former Guinness brewery property.^[28] The brewery was closed in 2004; it had produced beer since 1936.^[29]

In 1996, Diageo moved to a head office facility in Henrietta Place, Westminster, City of Westminster.^[28][30] In 2009, Diageo announced that it was closing the Henrietta Place facility as part of a cost reduction programme. Diageo moved its employees to the Park Royal site. During that year, about 1,000 employees were located at the Henrietta Place and Park Royal offices. The lease in the Henrietta facility was scheduled to expire in 2010.^[28]

Controversies[link]

In December 2003, Diageo provoked controversy over its decision to change its Cardhu brand Scotch whisky from a single malt to a vatted (blended) malt whilst retaining the original name and bottle style. Diageo took this action because it did not have sufficient reserves to meet demand in the Spanish market, where Cardhu had been successful. After a meeting of producers, Diageo agreed to make changes.^[31] In 2006, the Cardhu brand quietly changed back to being a single malt.^[32]

In July 2009, Diageo announced that, after nearly 200 years of association with the town of Kilmarnock, they would be closing the Johnnie Walker blending and bottling plant^[33] as part of restructuring to the business. This would make 700 workers unemployed and caused outrage from press, local people and politicians. A campaign against this decision was launched by the local SNP MSP Willie Coffey and Labour MP Des Browne. A petition was drawn up against the Diageo plans, which also involves the closure of the historic Port Dundas Grain Distillery in Glasgow.^[34] Part of the Johnnie Walker operation will be moved to a Diageo site at Leven, Fife, with the creation of 400 jobs there.^[35] As part of this expansion in Leven, Diageo culled a herd of roe deer living on the site to make way for new buildings.^[36]

In February 2009, it was reported in The Guardian that the company had restructured itself so as to avoid paying tax in the UK^[37]

The National Puerto Rican Coalition plans to run a series of ads in New York City and Puerto Rico urging a boycott of Diageo-owned alcoholic drinks to protest the corporation’s production move of its Captain Morgan rum from Puerto Rico to the U.S. Virgin Islands,^[38] which will provide it with $2.7 billion in tax benefits over 30 years.^[39]

On 9 May 2012 Scottish Craft Brewery Brewdog revealed that Diageo had threatened to withdraw funding from BII Scotland's annual awards if Brewdog was to be named winner of the Best Bar Operator award. Diageo were forced to issue an apology.^[40][41][42]

References[link]

External links[link]

	London portal
	Companies portal
	Beer portal
	Drink portal

• Official website
• DRINKIQ.com, Diageo's alcohol education site

v t e Diageo Beer brands Guinness Guinness Black Harp Kilkenny Red Stripe Satzenbrau Senator Keg Smithwick's Tusker Windhoek Spirits brands Gin Booth's Gilbey's Gordon's Tanqueray Liqueur Baileys Irish Cream Romana Sambuca Sheridan's Rum Bundaberg Rum Cacique Captain Morgan Myers's Rum Pampero Ron Zacapa Centenario Vodka Cîroc Ketel One Popov Silent Sam Smirnoff Whisky Bourbon: Bulleit Bourbon Canadian whisky: Crown Royal Seagram's Seven Crown Yukon Jack Irish whiskey: Bushmills Scotch whisky: Bell's Black & White Blair Athol Buchanan's Caol Ila Cardhu Classic Malts of Scotland Cragganmore Dalwhinnie Single Malt Dimple Glen Elgin Glenkinchie Glen Ord Johnnie Walker Justerini & Brooks (J&B) Knockando Lagavulin Single Malt Oban Old Parr Royal Lochnagar Singleton Talisker Vat 69 White Horse Windsor Premier Tennessee whiskey: George Dickel Other Archers Don Julio Goldschläger Hennessy1 Jose Cuervo Pimm's Raw Tea Rumple Minze Sirop de Picon Wine brands Beaulieu Vineyard Blossom Hill Chalone Dom Pérignon1 Justerini & Brooks Moët & Chandon1 Piat d'Or Rosenblum Cellars Sterling Vineyards Veuve Clicquot1 Breweries and distilleries Blair Athol Distillery Caol Ila Distillery Cardhu Distillery Cragganmore Distillery Dalwhinnie Distillery Desnoes & Geddes East African Breweries Glen Ord Distillery Glenkinchie Distillery Great Northern Brewery Guinness Brewery Guinness Nigeria Haig & Haig Industrias Pampero, C.A. Knockando Distillery Lagavulin Distillery Oban Distillery Old Bushmills Distillery Talisker Distillery People Chairman: Franz Humer Chief executive officer: Paul Walsh Other Diageo/Hotline Poll Diageo Staff Association Gleneagles Hotel Grand Metropolitan Guinness Brewmasters Guinness Storehouse Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles Johnnie Walker Classic United Distillers 1 Produced by Moët Hennessy, a joint venture between Diageo (34%) and LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton S.A. (66%) Category

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