© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A wine seller is seen near bottles of spirits at the Camparino bar in Milan, Italy on July 12, 2021. Photo taken July 12, 2021. REUTERS / Flavio Lo Scalzo/
By Francesca Landini and Silvia Aloisi
MILAN (Reuters) – Campari plans to open several top bars for their best-selling spirits in Europe and beyond to help tap into Italy’s aperitif culture, the company’s chief executive said. ty said.
The drinks group last week reported higher sales in the first three months of the year on the back of soaring demand for its bituminous wines Aperol and Campari as bars and restaurants reopened in Europe.
Even as corporate drinks sell well for home consumption during a pandemic, serving a well-crafted cocktail is still one of the best ways to win new customers, CEO Bob Kunze- Campari’s Concewitz said.
“When it comes to aperitifs, magic is made in bars, bartenders,” he said at a meeting with a small group of journalists.
“In the next five years, we want to have Camparino (bar) in London, New York, Singapore,” he said, revealing plans to export Milan’s historic boutique model for its red bitters, ingredients. main of the Negroni cocktail.
He does not set a price for the given investment.
Campari is facing more competition at home after a new Spritz cocktail was launched on Thursday by LVMH’s Moet Hennessy.
Chandon Garden Spritz, a premium ready-to-drink aperitif that bets on the appeal of natural ingredients and lower sugar content, was launched in France and the Nordic countries last year and is currently on sale. landing in Italy, Spain, England. and Asia.
Sibylle Scherer, president of Moet Hennessy’s Maison Chandon, says sparkling wine sales are growing three times faster than still wine.
Premium sparkling wines cost more than 12 euros a bottle, with Chandon being the market leader, representing a segment worth 4.4 billion euros in sales, she said.
“We want to win the hearts of Italians, both in the bar and at home, in a country that loves Spritz,” she told Reuters in Milan, presenting a cocktail made of Argentine sparkling wine, a bitter orange liqueur, orange peel, herbs and spices. At 8-10 euros per glass, it is more expensive than the average cocktails in Italy.
Despite competing on aperitifs, Campari and Moet formed an alliance to develop an e-commerce platform for wines and spirits last year around Tannico’s online wine and spirits company. Italy, the company will sell both versions of the Spritz.
BRAND IDENTITY
Carlo Alberto Carnevale Maffè, Professor at Milan’s SDA Bocconi school of management, says Campari’s plan for the new bars is “in line with the needs of many brands to get closer to the end consumer by provide not only the product but also the distinctive experiential context to strengthen the brand identity.”
He points out that these initiatives can also enable teams to collect accurate data on how they are consumed and better understand their customers.
The Italian group bought the Camparino bar in Milan’s central square for 5.6 million euros in 2018 and spent another 6.5 million euros to clear accumulated debt and upgrade it.
In 2020, Campari paid 4.2 million euros to secure a space in Venice, where the following year they opened Terrazza (Terrace) Aperol in the city where the aperitif became famous as the base for the Spritz cocktail traditional.
“Last year, we opened the first Terrazza Aperol in Venice … and that company will become a franchisee,” said Kunze-Concewitz.
