Stoli Group ‘operating manually’ in US after cyber-attack – Global Drinks Intel Exclusive

“We’re a global organisation that has faced some challenges on the US side,” Caldwell told editor Olly Wehring. “Applying for Chapter 11 enables us to conduct the financial restructuring required. Nothing will change in terms of our ability to trade in the country, and we have communicated that to our customers.

“We’ll follow the official process, which commences on Monday, and will have greater clarity when that process is approved. Our intent is to protect our business, our brands and our people.”

Asked what had prompted the filing, Caldwell highlighted the wider challenges facing spirits brand owners in the US, from longstanding destocking as interest rates hamper the distribution side, to more macroeconomic matters that are slowing consumer willingness to spend on spirits.

“Everybody’s facing challenges at the moment,” Caldwell said. “The market is very difficult and nobody’s immune to this.

“Specific to Stoli,” he added, “I can’t share many more details. The origins of the company have been long targeted by the Russian Federation. In August, the company, including our owner, was listed as an extremist organisation.”

Caldwell also said the US division had been the subject of a cyber-attack recently that had knocked out its SAP (systems, applications and products) system. “We’ve had to completely reimplement the system, and have been operating manually for the last two months,” he added.

Stoli Group is owned by Yuri Shefler, a UK-based Russian who purchased the Stolichnaya vodka brand from state-owned Soyuzplodoimport in 1997. Russia deemed the transaction illegal four years later, prompting Shefler to leave the country shortly afterwards. The business was rebranded as Stoli Group in 2022 and owns other spirits brands, including Kentucky Owl which was acquired in 2017, as well as US-based alcohol-free brand The Pathfinder Hemp & Root.