Moët Hennessy and Campari create JV for wine and spirits ecommerce
The purpose of the JV will be to invest in wine and spirits e-commerce companies; building up from Campari's existing Tannico ecommerce platform. As part of the partnership, Campari will contribute its stake in Tannico to the JV.
Tannico focuses on online sales of wines and premium spirits under the Tannico brand with a share of around 30% of this segment. Tannico also owns a majority stake in French wine and spirit ecommerce platform Ventealapropriete.com.
The joint venture between Campari and LVMH’s Moët Hennessy seeks to ‘build a premium pan-European e-commerce player for the benefit of all wine and spirits brands and their European consumers.’
It will be led by Marco Magnocavallo, founder and current CEO of Tannico, who remains a key minority shareholder in the business. “With the joint backing of Moët Hennessy and Campari, Tannico will have the firepower to consolidate the fragmented European e-commerce sector and offer a qualitative, sizeable and integrated route to market option catering to the needs of all its wines and spirits suppliers,” he said.
Tannico was founded in 2012 and now offers a catalogue of more than 15,000 labels from 2,500 wineries. With 90% of its business B2C, the platform offers a variety of services ranging from the assistance of a Personal Sommelier to dedicated content for connoisseurs and enthusiasts, such as a rare wines and collectables section. The platform also provides wine courses, video tutorials and a mobile app. In the B2B arena, Tannico offers services to wineries professionals in the hospitality industry.
Ventealapropriete.com is a leading French online wines and spirits retailer, with both established brands and rising newcomers.
Tannico and Ventealapropriete.com have complementary business models, territories and capabilities in terms of technology, marketing and logistics and generated pro-forma aggregated sales of over €70m ($83m) in 2020.
The creation of the JV, which foresees the sale of 50% of the JV’s equity capital by Campari to Moët Hennessy for a cash consideration of €25.6m ($30m), is expected to be finalized after the completion of all customary regulatory requirements.
Philippe Schaus, President & CEO, Moët Hennessy, said: “This partnership represents a significant step forward in our global ecommerce development strategy. While e-commerce was already a growing channel for wines and spirits, the global pandemic has triggered a significant acceleration.”
Bob Kunze-Concewitz, CEO Campari Group, added: “After the completion of Tannico’s first transformational step with the acquisition of Ventealapropriete.com, thanks to this agreement, the new partnership aims to continue to grow, further strengthening its footprint and expertise in the online retailing of spirits & wines.”
