INTERVIEW: Campari To Aim Wild Turkey At Younger US Drinkers

Davide Campari-Milano SpA (CPR.MI) plans to revitalize the Wild Turkey bourbon whiskey brand that it bought last year by targeting a younger drinker in the U.S. market, according to its chief executive.

The Italian drinks maker, best known for the red aperitif of the same name, will reposition the whiskey brand to benefit from what it sees as growing demand for the drink in coastal cities of the U.S., Bob Kunze-Concewitz said in an interview Friday.

Having bought Wild Turkey in April 2009 from France's Pernod Ricard SA (RI.FR) for $575 million, Campari has waited more than a year before deciding on the changes to be made to the brand, he said.

"We really wanted to get under the skin of the brand, understand its consumers, its opportunities and then ... make any changes if necessary," he told Dow Jones Newswires at Campari's head offices in northern Milan.

"We've done our homework and we will be looking at making some corrections toward the end of the year, beginning of next year," he said.

A mid-priced bourbon whiskey, Wild Turkey was seen by analysts as languishing under Pernod Ricard, and its purchase by Campari has been expected to bring new life into the brand, much like it has done with Skyy vodka and the Aperol aperitif.

The drink of "gonzo" journalist Hunter S. Thompson, Wild Turkey's biggest market is Texas.

"Right now Wild Turkey is mostly concentrated in the centre of the country and it has a slightly older consumer, very loyal," said Kunze-Concewitz.

"The whiskey market is growing very strongly along the coast. A younger, more urban [market]. We can keep that [older consumer base] but actually go after [younger] consumer targets.

"The more we look into it, the more we realize how much untapped potential we have and how iconic the brand is and how distinctive it is in the overall American whiskey market," he added.

The whiskey market has surged in the U.S. over the past decade. Since 2003, gross revenue at the supplier level for domestic and imported whiskey grew 23% to $5.3 billion by 2009, according to the Distilled Spirits Council.

With the likes of Jim Beam of Fortune Brands Inc (FO) and Jack Daniel's of Brown-Forman Corp (BF.B, BF.A), competition is as stiff as the drink.

In the first half of the year, Wild Turkey contributed more than EUR26 million to Campari's EUR515.7 million in total sales, according to a presentation of its results posted on the company's website August 4.

In the Americas, where 34.1% of Campari's total sales were generated in the period, sales grew 46.1%, 15% of which from Wild Turkey.

Company website: www.camparigroup.com

-Gilles Castonguay, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]