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Ivan Menezes plans to take Diageo places(Ecomonic Times, The (India) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Mar. 28--MUMBAI, India -- If you were introduced to the head of the world's leading premium drinks company, you might expect someone who is loud, aggressive and flamboyant. But Ivan Menezes, CEO of Diageo North America, is none of the above. Dapper and soft-spoken, almost to the point that one sometimes has to strain to hear him, this 47-year-old Mumbai-born is a stark contrast to the stereotypical image -- at least in the Indian context -- of a liquor company head. For starters, Mr Menezes begins this conversation with, no, not about another premium brand, (Diageo is the world's leading premium drinks company) but on the merits of responsible drinking. "This is something that we are very serious about. We have a significant focus on responsible consumption and invested a lot -- both money and efforts -- in promoting responsible drinking." While Diageo has been working closely with social groups in the US such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving, in India, it has been the first among foreign companies to work with Indian road traffic authorities to reduce cases of drunk driving. Mr Menezes' visiting card, however, is the opposite of the man. The reverse of the card has the names of all the company's brands embossed(that's when you realise that Diageo also sells Smirnoff vodka). Other brands include Johnnie Walker, Guinness, Baileys, J&B, Captain Morgan, Cuervo, Tanqueray, and Beaulieu Vineyard and Sterling Vineyards wines. "It's the largest selling vodka in the world," he says, adding that in India too, Smirnoff is the most favoured drink among upper echelon drinkers. The Indian market consumes 1.6m cases of vodka annually, of which, about 400,000 cases are Smirnoff. "The Smirnoff brand epitomises our culture. It is the ultimate mixable spirit and is a great hit with cocktail drinkers." As if we didn't know! Apart from vodka, Diageo's brands are market leaders in most segments. In scotch, the company accounts for half of India's total scotch sales, which adds up to about 700,000 cases. "Unlike some others we see much opportunity in the premium end of the segment," he says. For a company with a market capitalisation of about 23bn and a global trading presence in 180 markets, the Diageo board is relatively young, with the average age being the late forties. So does the fact that having an Indian in the top post anything to do with gaining market share in two of the world's fastest growing economies -- India and China? Mr Menezes doesn't answer this directly, but admits that the two markets are very vital to Diageo. "India is a very attractive market for us, but we'll maintain our focus on premium brands. (Although) we participated in a limited way till now, we have plans to boost our marketing network in India," he added. Being on the top rungs of the global executive sweepstakes is not uncommon for the Menezes family. Ivan's brother Victor (now retired) was one of Citigroup's top honchos till a couple of years back. The scotch and vodka markets are growing at the rate of 30 percent annually in India and China, while Brazil is the biggest market in the BRIC segment. Predictably, Diageo's scotch sells more than its vodka in Russia. Diageo is already present in 65 percent of the retail outlets in India and has plans to increase this further. "Our investments would be in marketing and in brand building. But as we are in the premium segment, our approach is (has to be) different," said Mr Menezes. Diageo is learning from its experiences. In the US, after the Hispanics, Asians are the next fastest growing market segment for liquor companies. It is trying to emulate those policies in India. But as Mr Menezes concedes, it's a difficult task. "For one, the level of duties in India are very high. We are trying to lobby for a reduction in customs duty." India has one of the largest levels of duties on imported liquor in the world, with the slabs going up to about 100 percent and upwards, while its rival China has a slab of only 10 percent.Mr Menezes, who was on a personal trip to India, also took time off to watch the India-England cricket Test in Mumbai last week, an experience capable of driving fans of both sides to drink, though for entirely different reasons. |