The Business Year Special Report
BEST in class
In 2018 Codorniu was acquired by the capital fund Carlyle. How did this acquisition come to be, and who are the stakeholders now?
When the company modernized and issued shares, all the siblings inherited a part, so we had about 200 different shareholders. I am part of the family, and my father has been on the board of directors for many years. I established my own boutique winery business out of Codorniu in 2006: Parxet. Because it was successful, there was a proposal to merge the two companies, and I took on the challenge of managing the new company. Almost 100% of the family shareholders are still in the company, but we introduced a leading shareholder with modern management that was powerful and had the capacity not only to develop our amazing brands and wineries, but to also do new things in the future. Carlyle eventually agreed to buy 60% of the company.
In terms of product portfolio, which are Codorniu’s most important brands and products, and how much do they contribute to global operations?
Codorniu has some of the best wineries in every region, although it is also a matter of taste. It is pretty balanced in terms of how much each winery contributes to the business, although some are bigger because the facilities are larger or the brand is older, like Codorniu or Raimat. Our strength is our portfolio; nobody could have dreamed to put one like this together a few years ago. This was done with the acquisition of two important areas: Artesa in Napa Valley and Septima in Mendoza.
What is your internationalization strategy, whom do you rely on, and what are the most important markets?
The international business will be a huge asset in the future, as Spain is probably the best country in the winemaking world to produce great wines at reasonable prices. That is why we are building a strong international team and trying to find the best partners in every country. We export to 70 different countries, but we are designing a strategy for each area by finding the right partner for the long term. Our partners are distributors and producers of local beverages, which makes them strong competitors in the local market, and pure importers with various profiles. Today, our export turnover is just below 50% of the total and, in the future, it will be around 75%.
How can big players like you cooperate or work to balance collaboration and competition between big and small players to make the sector successful?
We own four houses of cava, with the best known among them Codorniu. We own the leading highend winery in the region, Parxet, and are leading local markets in the high-end business. We own Mont-Ferrant and have a beautiful single vineyard project called Titiana, so we know the needs of every scale. Codorniu is far away from the volumes of Freixenet because it is a different business. We are around 20% in volume, but in value we are closer, so we have a different position, strategy, problems, and opinions about new regulations and organic growth.
How is Codorniu working to promote enotourism and bring value to regions outside of Barcelona, including moving its headquarters to Sant Sadurní d'Anoia?
In Catalonia, I can visit and work for three hours in four or five wineries every day. One can go from Alella, the white wine region, to Barcelona in 10 minutes. The same goes for Penedès, which is 30 minutes from Barcelona by car. Everything is close to the city, so we must get all these people to these beautiful places. We are trying to explain how beautiful the winemaking regions are outside the city through our wines.
Codorniu exports to different countries
Carlyle owns of Codorniu