Rustam Tariko can lose not only Nemiroff, but most of the import brands, distributed by his company, Rust Inc. Since January 1, 2012 Italian Campari Group (vermouth Cinzano) starts an independent distribution in Russia, and the British William Grant & Sons (Whisky Grant `s) chooses a new Russian partner.

 

CEO of "Region 50" (wholesaler of alcohol in the Moscow Region) Nikolay Laushkin confirmed to Kommersant that "the Rust Inc. notified their partners of terminations of the Campari products supply since January 1, 2012. "The following brands of Campari, Carolans and Irish Mist will get out of the portfolio of "Rust " this summer, and Cinzano and Cinzano Asti  will remain until the end of the year", - said Mr. Laushkin.

In late 2010, country manager of the Italian company Anton Degtyarev explained to Kommersant that Campari opened a representative office in Russia. In late January, the Federal Antimonopoly Service granted the application by DI.CI.E. Holding B.V. (Structure of Campari) about buying Ltd Vasco (CIS), which is a subsidiary of international distributor of alcohol Vasco International. Through its sales system  Campari will continue to sell their products.

In addition to Campari, this year William Grant & Sons (WGS) might eliminate contract with Rust Inc., according to several market participants. Currently the company of Mr. Tariko sells their whiskey Grant `s, Clan MacGregor, Glenfiddich, The Balvenie, Tullamore Dew, Gin Hendrick` s in Russia. "The WGS contract with Rust will expire on July 1 this year, and by this time they want to find a new distributor in Russia, " one of the interlocutors of Kommersant said.

The CEO of distributor of elite alcohol Simple, Maxim Kashirin told about the fact that WGS is looking for a new partner in Russia. The top manager of another alcohol company said that the British were negotiating with a group “Russky Alcohol”, owned by Polish CEDC. CEDC’s president and CEO William Carey "Russky Alcohol" Carlo Radicati declined comment. But two sources close to the CEDC confirmed that the agreement will be signed soon. "WGS is not satisfied with the sales by the Rust: They believe that thanks to their pricing and credit policies at least twice as much product can be sold," one of the interlocutors of Kommersant said.

The representative of the WGS, David Hume, said that the managing director in the Europe-Middle East-Africa, which also includes Russia, is holding the "review of the situation in the commercial field." "At the moment we cannot add anything to this information yet," Mr. Hume said.

The "Russian Standard" yesterday did not respond to a request by Kommersant.

If Rust Inc. loses brands owned by Campari and WGS, it will have the only major foreign partner left - the French Remy Cointreau (Remy Martin cognac, and Louis XIII, brandy St. Remy and Metaxa, liqueur Cointreau, Champagne Piper-Heidsieck).

According to the Logistics company ILS, in 2010, Rust Inc. imported 647.7 million of alcohol production, which amounts to 1.6% of all alcohol imported into Russia. At its factory in St. Petersburg last year, "Russian Standard" produced 2.2 million of their own products (according to Rosstat) - Vodka “Russian Standard ", “Imperia”,"Aurora". According to market participants, the company exports over 60% of the volume .