Diageo

Diageo is an invented name that was created by the branding consultancy Wolff Olins in 1997.[4] The name is composed of the Latin word diēs, meaning "day", and the Greek root geo-, meaning "world"; and is meant to reference the company slogan "Celebrating Life, Every Day, Everywhere".[5] [6]

Diageo was formed in 1997 from the merger of Guinness Brewery and Grand Metropolitan. Its creation was driven by the executives Anthony Greener and Philip Yea at Guinness[7] along with George Bull and John McGrath of Grand Metropolitan.[8] Anthony Greener was the first executive chairman.[9] Shares in Diageo began trading on the London Stock Exchange on 17 December 1997.[10]

Diageo owned Pillsbury until 2000 when it was sold to General Mills.[11] In 2002, Diageo sold the Burger King fast food restaurant chain to a consortium led by US firm Texas Pacific for $1.5 billion.[12]

In 2001, Diageo acquired the Seagram’s spirits and wine businesses.[13]

In 2003, Diageo signed a joint venture with tequila brand Jose Cuervo to buy Don Julio Tequila, selling Jose Cuervo a 50 per cent stake for $100m.[14]

In February 2011, Diageo agreed to acquire the Turkish liquor company Mey Icki for US$2.1 billion.[15][16]

In May 2012, Diageo agreed to acquire Ypioca, the largest-selling brand of premium cachaça in Brazil, for £300 million.[17]

In June 2012, Diageo announced a £1 billion investment in Scotch whisky production over the following five years, with at least one new distillery to be constructed, several existing facilities to be expanded, and overall production capacity to be increased by 30 to 40 per cent.[18][19] This did not, however, involve retaining the original Johnnie Walker plant, in Kilmarnock, which had already closed its doors in March of the same year.[20]

In November 2012, Diageo agreed to acquire a 53.4 per cent stake in the Indian spirits company United Spirits for £1.28 billion.[21][22]

Since 2011 Diageo has had a controlling stake in the parent company, Sichan Chengdu Shuijingfang Group Company, which it bought outright in 2013.[23]

In November 2014, Diageo agreed to sell Bushmills Irish whiskey to Jose Cuervo in exchange for $408 million and full ownership of tequila brand Don Julio.[24]

In April 2015, Diageo acquired a 100 per cent share in South African beer producer United National Breweries (UNB)[25] but it was announced in December 2018 that Diageo had entered into an agreement for the sale of UNB, expected to close in the second half of 2019.[26]

In October 2015, Diageo announced the sale of most of its wine business to Treasury Wine Estates.[27] Other brands, such as Navarro Correas and Chalone Vineyard, were sold separately.[28]

In December 2015, Diageo announced a $10 million investment in Danish whisky brand Stauning, to facilitate expansion of production.[29]

In March 2016, the company sold Grand Marnier, a cognac and bitter orange-based liqueur, to the Italian beverage company Campari Group.[30]

In February 2017, Diageo announced plans to open a Guinness brewery and tourist attraction in Baltimore County, Maryland.[31] The brewery could potentially create 70 new jobs and host as many as 300,000 visitors per year.[32]

In June 2017, Diageo agreed to buy George Clooney's high-end tequila brand, Casamigos, for up to $1 billion.[33]

In February 2018, Diageo announced plans for limited edition bottles of its 12-year-old Black Label blended whisky named Jane Walker, as opposed to Johnnie Walker, to be sold. The label will feature a striding woman on the label rather than the top-hatted man normally associated with the brand.[34]

In November 2018, Diageo agreed to sell Seagram's VO, Seagram's 83, Myers's Rum, Popov vodka, Booth's Gin, Goldschläger, Yukon Jack, Sambuca, and 11 other brands to the Sazerac Company for $550 million.[35][36]

In February 2019, Diageo increased its stake in Chinese baijiu company Sichuan Shuijingfang Company Limited (SJF) to almost 70% through a partial-tender offer.[37]

In August 2019, Diageo bought the majority stake in Seedlip, a non-alcoholic spirits brand.[38]

In January 2020, Diageo agreed to pay $5 million to settle charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission that alleged the company had pressured distributors to buy products in excess of demand in order to hit performance goals.[39][40]

Diageo's brands include Smirnoff (the world's best selling vodka brand),[41] Johnnie Walker (the world's best-selling blended Scotch whisky),[42] Baileys (the world's best-selling liqueur)[43] and Guinness (the world's best-selling stout).[44][45] It also owns 34 per cent of Moët Hennessy, which owns brands including Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot and Hennessy.[46][47]

Diageo operates in 180 countries across five regions: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean.[48]

In December 2014, Diageo announced a series of sustainability and responsibility targets for 2020.[49]

By 2020, the beverage company intends to source 80 per cent of the agricultural raw materials they use in Africa from within the continent, ensure that 30 per cent of management positions within the company are held by women, improve water efficiency by 50 per cent and safely return 100 per cent of the waste water from their operations back to the environment.[50]

Diageo has also committed to the World Health Organisation’s goal of reducing harmful alcohol usage by 10 per cent worldwide by 2025.[51]

Removal of plastic packaging
In April 2019, it was announced that plastic ring carriers and shrink wrap will be removed from multipacks of Diageo beer brands including Guinness, Harp and Smithwick’s.[52]

The brand has pledged to invest £16million to reduce the amount of plastics used in their beer packaging, which will see the introduction of 100% recyclable and biodegradable cardboard to replace plastic, and a reduction of plastic waste that is the equivalent of removing 40 million 50cl plastic bottles from the world.[53]

Environmental footprint assessments
As part of measuring and improving their environmental impact, in 2018 Diageo published a series of assessments to help people better understand the environmental footprint of some of their most popular brands. The brands included were Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker, Tanqueray, Guinness & Captain Morgan.[54]

Water of Life program
Diageo set up the Water of Life initiative to improve the quality of drinking water in some of the world’s worst-affected areas. Since 2007, Diageo’s Water of Life has reached more than 10 million people in India and in 21 countries in Africa, supporting a range of interventions including boreholes, hand-dug wells, rainwater harvesting and domestic filtration devices.[55]

In 2016, Diageo was ranked 11th out of 4,255 companies worldwide for diversity and inclusiveness in the Thomson Reuters Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Index.[56]

Diageo's beverage brands include:[57]

• Beer: Guinness, Rockshore, Harp Lager, Smithwick's, Kilkenny, Meta, Senator, Tusker, Hop House 13[58]
• Scotch whisky: Johnnie Walker, Bell's, Black & White, Buchanan's, Dimple, Grand Old Parr, Haig Club, Justerini & Brooks (J&B), Vat 69, White Horse, Windsor, Auchroisk, Benrinnes, Blair Athol, Caol Ila, Cardhu, Clynelish, Cragganmore, Dailuaine, Dalwhinnie, Glen Elgin, Glen Spey, Glenkinchie, Glenlossie, Inchgower, Knockando, Lagavulin, Linkwood, Mannochmore, Mortlach, Oban, Royal Lochnagar, Strathmill, Talisker, Teaninich, Singleton of Dufftown, Singleton of Glen Ord, Singleton of Glendullan
• Vodka: Smirnoff, Cîroc, Ketel One, American Anthem, Silent Sam
• Gin: Tanqueray, Gordon's, Gilbey's, Jinzu, Nolet's
• Rum: Captain Morgan, Pampero, Zacapa, Bundaberg, Cacique
• Bourbon: Bulleit, I. W. Harper,[59] Orphan Barrel[60]
• American whiskey: Seagram's Seven Crown
• Canadian whisky: Crown Royal
• Tennessee whiskey: George Dickel
• Irish whiskey: Roe & Co
• Tequila: Don Julio, DeLeón, Casamigos
• Schnapps: Rumple Minze, Archers
• Baijiu: Shui Jing Fang, Nếp Mới
• Mixed drinks: Pimm's, Jeremiah Weed, Smirnoff Cocktails
• Liqueur: Baileys, Sheridans, Godiva
• Rakı: Yeni Rakı, Tekirdağ Rakısı, Kulüp Rakı, Altınbaş
• Cachaça: Ypioca

Diageo also owns United Spirits in India as well as distributes Unicum (Hungarian liqueur), its lighter-bodied variant Zwack.

Diageo is the world's biggest whisky producer with malt distilleries in Blair Athol, Glenkinchie, Dalwhinnie, Royal Lochnagar, Cragganmore, Cardhu, Glen Ord, Clynelish, Talisker, Oban, Caol Ila and Lagavulin.[61] Other distilleries include Linkwood,[62] Knockando,[63] Auchroisk,[64] Benrinnes,[65] Cameron Bridge,[66] Dailuaine,[67] Dufftown,[68] Cascade Hollow,[69] Glen Elgin,[70] Strathmill,[71] Teaninich,[72] Mannochmore,[73] Mortlach,[74] Inchgower,[75] and Glenlossie.[76]

It also has the large Roseisle distillery in Speyside.[77]

Diageo also owns a 34% stake in the Moet Hennessy drinks division of French luxury goods company LVMH.[78]

In 2017, the company was awarded top place in the Institute of Directors' and Chartered Quality Institute's Good Governance Index.[79]

• 
  Diageo's Gimli Plant in Gimli, Manitoba, Canada, the global supply plant for Crown Royal (the top selling Canadian whisky in United States[80])
• 
  Caol Ila distillery on the Isle of Islay, Scotland
• 
  Sterling Vineyards in Napa Valley, California
• 
  Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland
• 
  St James Gate Guinness Brewery in Dublin, Ireland
• 
  Diageo world headquarters in Park Royal, London

Diageo received major backlash from the public and the Scottish Government following the decision to close Johnnie Walker production in Kilmarnock, Scotland, the birthplace of the brand's founder and production hub since 1820

In December 2003, Diageo caused controversy when it changed its Cardhu brand Scotch whisky from a single malt to a vatted (blended) malt whilst retaining the original name and bottle style.[86] 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.[86][87]

In July 2009, Diageo announced that, after nearly 200 years of association with the town of Kilmarnock, Scotland, they would be closing the Johnnie Walker blending and bottling plant[88] 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 plans, which also involved the closure of the historic Port Dundas grain distillery in Glasgow.[89]

In February 2009, it was reported in The Guardian that the company had restructured itself so as to avoid paying tax in the UK.[90]

The National Puerto Rican Coalition planned 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,[91] which will provide it with $2.7 billion in tax benefits over 30 years.[92]

In 2011, Diageo agreed to pay more than $16 million to settle US civil regulatory charges that it made improper payments to foreign officials. Regulators accused the company of violating the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act to obtain sales and tax benefits for its Johnnie Walker and Windsor Scotch whiskeys and other brands. The SEC said that from 2003 to 2009, Diageo paid $2.7 million to officials in India, Thailand, and South Korea through its subsidiaries. The settlement included $11.3 million in disgorgement of profits, plus $2.1 million in interest and a $3 million penalty.[93]

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 named winner of the Best Bar Operator award. Diageo was forced to issue an apology.[94][95][96]

In 2015, Diageo offended survivors of rape and sexual abuse with an advertising campaign showing a young girl crying with her makeup smeared as her sister looks at her from the doorway, and the caption, "Who's following in your footsteps? Out of control drinking has consequences." The director of Rape Crisis Network Ireland said Diageo "blames victims of sexual violence for the crimes that have been committed against them. The belief that drunk girls are 'asking for it' is one that needs to be strongly challenged as it is one that we know perpetrators use to select and target their victims knowing this cultural attitude will mean they get away with it. [...] This is a harmful, regressive and hurtful message which targets the vulnerable. Survivors of sexual violence should never be used in this manner. This latest ad builds on the shaming of women theme that can be seen in much drink related campaigning. The out-of-control campaign which started by asking women if they were 'embarrassed' while they were being photographed without their consent in a potentially compromising position, has now progressed to blaming victims of rape for their own rape."[97]

In November 2016, Diageo announced its intention of selling at auction Sir Edwin Landseer's iconic 1851 painting The Monarch of the Glen – which the company owns, but which has been on loan to the National Museum of Scotland since 1999 – as it had "no direct link to our business or brands". The sale was expected to raise over £10 million.[98] Ian Jack, writing in The Guardian, compared the proposed sale to "feeding old masters into the boilers of luxury liners to keep the steam up", and stated that "any business with a sense of history would give the picture to a public gallery in Scotland, the place without which both the business and the picture would be nothing. It would be the decent thing."[99]

In July 2017, Diageo was accused of using its huge influence over Irish publicans to pressure some based in Cork city into swapping out craft beer taps offering Irish-produced craft beer for Diageo beer brands, after several such pubs all did so over the course of one weekend. Diageo denied the accusation.[100]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Diageo.

• Diageo – official site
• TheBar.com (UK) – Diageo's UK cocktail recipe site
• TheBar.com (DE) – Diageo's German cocktail recipe site
• DrinkIQ.com – Diageo's alcohol education site