Italian spirits giant Campari has said it will need to take “tough decisions, such as organisational restructuring” to return to medium to long-term financial stability.
After Italian publication MF reported Campari was looking to cut its workforce by around 10% – equivalent to around 500 people – the Aperol brand owner confirmed a “wide and ongoing process” was underway to get costs under control.
“We are gradually implementing a comprehensive set of company initiatives to accelerate growth and profitability via focus, simplification and cost containment,” a spokeswoman for Campari said. “This includes some tough decisions, such as organisational restructuring. These measures, although difficult, aim to ensure a return to the overall medium and long-term financial health and sustainability of Campari Group.”
Campari needed a more efficient resource allocation, after topline performance and existing infrastructure investments had dragged on profitability in recent quarters, the spokeswomman added.
The company declined to quantify the number of jobs at risk as part of global restructuring efforts.
Like many other global spirits majors, Campari has seen post-pandemic growth tail off in recent quarters.
In the three months ended 30 September 2024, its net sales climbed 1.4% on a reported basis but declined 1.4% organically, in what was a large deviation from consensus forecasts of 9% growth. The miss caused shares in Campari to slide by more than 15%.
Following the results announcement, interim co-CEO Paolo Marchesini said Campari planned to offload some of its spirits brands in order to cut costs.
Campari hired former William Grant & Sons boss Simon Hunt to be its new CEO in December. Hunt replaced Matteo Fantacchiotti, who quit in September after just five months.
The company due to report is fourth quarter and full-year financial results for 2024 on 4 Marc
No comments yet