Diageo already produces a veritable Amazon of alcoholic brands – Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker, Bailey's, and Guinness to name a few — but the drinks giant is still not satisfied.

Reuters reports that the world’s largest spirits maker was in talks to purchase the world’s best-selling tequila maker, Jose Cuervo, but those talks have concluded without an agreement. Don’t think Diageo is done, though. The pullout “fuelled speculation that” Diageo will now go after buying up Beam Inc., which produces the world’s second-best-selling tequila, Sauza, and of course its iconic Jim Beam brand in addition to Maker's Mark and Knob Creek bourbons.Continue reading...

They say to never mix business with pleasure but it’s been working for the folks at Jim Beam since 1795.

It’s been working so well, in fact, that Fortune Brands ditched its non-liquor-related businesses and changed its name to Beam Inc. on Tuesday, when it began trading under its new moniker on the New York Stock Exchange.

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear and Beam president and CEO Matt Shattock celebrated the change Monday in the Bluegrass State, where the company will build “the company’s global research and development center,” according to the Louisville Courier-Journal.

Shattock also “unveiled a new logo for the company," whose execs will ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Friday to celebrate its new public identity.Continue reading...

Some brand owners see strategic value in consolidating their brands under a unified corporate structure, using size to leverage its marketing power and achieve economies of scale. This makes perfect sense when a company manages many brands in similar categories that serve similar markets, as in the case of Procter & Gamble.

But then there are those companies whose brand holdings are in diverse categories, each of which requires a specialized approach to marketing and distribution. In this case, a consolidated business model may become a barrier to further growth.

So it is with Fortune Brands, which has announced its intention to separate the company into three unique businesses representing its distinct consumer product lines.Continue reading...