Beam Suntory has completed the move of its corporate headquarters with CEO Albert Baladi using the news to highlight the “resilient” nature of the spirits category.
The switch from Chicago to new offices in New York sees Beam Suntory move in at the same time as the New York office of its parent company, Suntory Group. Located at 11 Madison Avenue, the HQ “represents the company’s ‘east-meets-west’ aesthetic”.
Speaking to Yahoo Finance on the day of the site’s official opening this week, Albert Baladi, who became CEO in 2019, was asked how the business is navigating the current trading environment. “The spirits category overall has been really very resilient through economic downturns, particularly premium spirits,” Baladi said. “We see some great opportunities for us and the move of our headquarters to New York is a reflection of that – It’s a big moment for us as a company.”
As well as highlighting the premiumisation and convenience consumer trends in spirits, Baladi added: “Consumers will always pay for quality. This is a bet we’re making as a company; we’re making big investments in quality. We’ll continue investing a lot in whisky/whiskey. At the same time, we need to grow other categories, like Tequila, Cognac and in ready-to-drink, which is really on fire at the moment.”
In Beam Suntory’s half-year results, to the end of June, the brand owner noted a doubling of sales for its On The Rocks premix cocktails brand, which was acquired in 2020.
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