In accordance with its 2016 Sale & Distribution Agreement with Diageo plc, Guinness Nigeria has announced that, as of April 2024, it will no longer import or market some Diageo globally premium spirits brands, such as Baileys, Singleton, and Johnnie Walker. Company Secretary and Director of Corporate Relations, Rotimi Odusola, issued the statement. This action is consistent with its long-term development plan and Diageo plc’s decision to create a new, fully-owned spirits-focused company to handle the importation and sale of its international premium spirits collection in West and Central Africa, with Nigeria serving as one of the centers.
Revenue from the portfolio of imported Diageo spirit goods that Guinness Nigeria owns was ₦14 billion in the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2023, which is approximately 6% of the company’s overall earnings. As a leading total beverage alcohol player, Guinness Nigeria will keep producing and distributing its full line of non-alcoholic drinks, beer, locally produced spirits and ready-to-drink (RTD) options, such as Orijin, Gordon’s Moringa, Captain Morgan Gold, and Smirnoff X1 Choco, to the best of its ability, making full use of the increased production capacity it has enjoyed in recent years. Diageo plc’s investment in the company has not changed, and Diageo continues to be an important shareholder in the company.
This shift would boost innovation in Nigeria expanding spirits industry.
In doing this, it will be in a stronger position to concentrate on its core competencies, which include the production, distribution, and marketing of non-alcoholic beverages, beer, RTDs, and locally-made spirits, ultimately improving the company’s long-term viability, growth, and value creation for its various stakeholders. The shift would boost innovation in Nigeria expanding spirits industry and maximise the utility of its existing infrastructure. This strategic shift minimises the company’s need for foreign exchange and lessens the impact of continued foreign exchange shortage and exchange rate volatility on the company’s bottom line.
Managing Director/CEO of Guinness Nigeria, John Musunga, stated that this shift will allow the company to place greater emphasis on its core business, which has continuously generated growth over the years despite the difficult external environment. To accommodate the rising demand for their beer and extremely successful indigenous spirits brands, they have invested in expanding capacity at their breweries in Ogba, Lagos state, as well as Benin, Edo state. This would improve their capacity for sustained growth and wealth creation for all its stakeholders while reducing their exposure to foreign currency.
Performance and profitability of the business will be maintained.
To continue being a successful Nigerian business, they are dedicated to maintaining that its operations and strategic activities improve its performance and maintain its profitability for the benefit of its many valued stakeholders. Diageo Plc, the world’s most prominent alcoholic drinks firm, owns the subsidiary Guinness Nigeria, the sole Total Beverage Alcohol firm in Nigeria. The company produces a variety of non-alcoholic beverages, as well as spirits, lagers, and beers. Some of its most popular and esteemed brands include Guinness Smooth, Guinness Foreign Extra Stout, Malta Guinness, Orijin Zero, Dubic Malt, Orijin Bitters, Gordons Orange Sunset, Mr. Dowells, Gordons Pink Berry, Smirnoff Vodka, Smirnoff Ice, Smirnoff Pineapple Punch, Captain Morgan Gold, and many others.
Furthermore, It delivers on its ethical and sustainable obligations, which are focused on the following three areas: fostering positive drinking, advocating inclusiveness and diversity, and promoting grain-to-glass long-term sustainability. It has a very clear determination to be the highest-performing, most reputable and esteemed consumer products business in the country, and it does this by delivering on its objectives. The organisation maintains its role as a leader in the quest for socially responsible drinking and continued community growth.
Ogba Brewery produced the country’s first bottle of Foreign Extra Stout.
With its inception in 1950, the company is one of Nigeria longest-running manufacturing firms and is home to the first Guinness brewery outside of the British Isles. In 1962, just two years after Nigeria gained its independence, the Ogba Brewery produced the country’s first bottle of Guinness Foreign Extra Stout. In 1965, three years after its establishment, it was introduced to the Nigerian stock market. A second brewery was established in Benin in 1974 and enlarged that location in 1978 to include a stout brewery. It extended its Benin and Ogba breweries in 2011 to satisfy the rising demand for its products, and it opened its fourth brewery in Ogba, Lagos, in 1982.
Related Link
Guinness Nigeria: Website
