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Campari Group: From a Milanese Café to Global Spirits Empire
How a single bitter aperitif born in a Milanese café became one of the world's largest premium spirits empires—and why an orange drink called Aperol changed everything.
I. Introduction: The Aperitivo Empire
Picture yourself at a terrace in Venice's Piazza San Marco on a warm summer evening. The sun hangs low, painting the ancient stones in amber light. Around you, glasses catch the last rays—not filled with wine or beer, but with something distinctly, vibrantly orange. That drink, the Aperol Spritz, has become perhaps the most successful cocktail brand story of the twenty-first century. And behind it stands a 165-year-old Italian company that has quietly, methodically assembled one of the most formidable spirits portfolios on the planet.
Davide Campari-Milano N.V., trading as Campari Group, is an Italian company active since 1860 in the branded beverage industry. It produces spirits, wines, and non-alcoholic apéritifs. From its signature product, Campari, its portfolio has been extended to include over 50 brands, including Aperol, Appleton, Cinzano, SKYY vodka, Espolón, Wild Turkey, Grand Marnier, and Forty Creek whisky.
Founded in Milan by Gaspare Campari and currently headquartered in Sesto San Giovanni, the Group is now a global company—the sixth-largest spirits group worldwide—marketing and distributing its products in over 190 countries.
This is not merely a story of bottles and brands. It is a story of three generations of family stewardship, of a sleepy Italian soft drinks company transformed into an acquisition machine, of cultural moments captured in liquid form, and of one of the most audacious corporate transformations in consumer goods history.
The central question we explore: How did a bitter red aperitif, invented when Italy wasn't yet a unified nation, evolve into a €3 billion empire challenging the industry giants? And what does the future hold as the company navigates tariff storms, leadership changes, and a shifting global appetite for alcohol?
II. The Founding: Gaspare Campari & the Birth of a Bitter (1828–1867)
The year is 1828. In the small Lombardian village of Cassolnovo, not far from Milan, a farming family welcomes their tenth child—a boy named Gaspare. Born into a relatively poor farming family, Gaspare had to start working at a young age. Deciding to open his own bar, it became so successful that he opened another in the heart of Milan, making his own cordials, cream liqueurs and bitters in the basement.
The young Gaspare did not follow his siblings into agriculture. Instead, something drew him toward the bustling taverns and cafés of Milan, then the most cosmopolitan city in the Italian peninsula. He began as a dishwashing boy, then a waiter, meticulously gathering knowledge until he became a bartender's assistant. He was not simply learning a trade—he was conducting an apprenticeship in taste, chemistry, and the emerging science of mixology.
After years of preparation, Gaspare moved to Novara to open his own café. It was there, in 1860—the same year Italy began unifying under Giuseppe Garibaldi's revolutionary campaign—that Gaspare perfected a recipe that would outlast empires. Campari is older than Italy itself as a country. Gaspare Campari, the tenth son of a farmer, invented a "bitter" drink back in 1840.
The drink was originally known as "Bitter all'Uso d'Olanda" (Dutch-style bitter), and its distinctive crimson hue came from a rather unconventional source: carmine dye derived from crushed cochineal insects—a coloring method Campari would maintain for well over a century before switching to artificial alternatives in 2006.
But Gaspare's true genius lay not just in the recipe but in his choice of real estate. His choice of location near the Duomo coincided with the opening of Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, contributing to the fame of its bar and its bitters.
By 1867, Gaspare had secured the ultimate location for an ambitious café proprietor. In 1862, Gaspare Campari opened a café near the Duomo in Milan, which became a significant social gathering spot. The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II—Italy's oldest and most stunning shopping arcade, a masterpiece of iron and glass connecting the Duomo to La Scala opera house—had just opened. And right at its heart, Gaspare planted his flag: Caffè Campari.
The café became more than a watering hole. It was a salon, a meeting point for artists, writers, opera singers, and the Milanese elite. Every evening, the ruby-red liquid poured into delicate glasses, building one of history's first luxury beverage brands through social proof and exclusivity rather than mass advertising. The secret recipe—still guarded to this day, known only to a handful of people within the company—became the talk of Italy's creative class.
Gaspare understood something profound about brand-building that would echo through the company's DNA for the next century and a half: you don't just sell a drink; you sell the experience, the social context, the ritual. The bitter aperitif was not merely consumed—it was performed, a signal of sophistication and modernity.
When Gaspare passed away in 1882, he left behind more than a café and a recipe. He had planted the seeds of a cultural institution.
III. Building the Brand: Davide Campari & Early Expansion (1888–1936)
If Gaspare Campari was the inventor, his son Davide was the empire builder. In 1926 Davide, Gaspare's son, transformed the company by dropping the production of all drinks other than a Campari bitter and Cordial Campari.
This single strategic decision—made nearly a century before consultants began preaching "focus"—revealed Davide's understanding of brand equity. While other beverage makers diversified into every category imaginable, Davide bet everything on concentration. He would make Campari not just a drink, but the Italian aperitif.
In 1904 the historic production site at Sesto San Giovanni was inaugurated. It would remain in operation until 2005 when a new production site was opened in Novi Ligure.
The Sesto San Giovanni facility marked Campari's transformation from an artisanal café operation into an industrial concern. But Davide understood that scale alone would not build a lasting brand. He needed something more: cultural legitimacy.
This is where Davide's approach became genuinely innovative. Rather than simply advertising the product, he enlisted the greatest artists of the era to create works that celebrated Campari. The company became a patron of the arts, commissioning posters, advertisements, and designs from the Italian Futurists and other avant-garde movements.
In 1932 Camparisoda, the first single-serve aperitif in the world, was launched. The bottle was designed by Fortunato Depero, one of the most famous Futurist artists of the time. The iconic bottle, unchanged to this day, has become a symbol of everyday "usable" design objects in Italy and the world. Depero's invention had many highly innovative features.
The Camparisoda bottle deserves special attention because it represents one of the earliest examples of what we would today call "product design thinking." It was the first single-dose product, it was ready for consumption and it contained the perfect pre-dinner drink mix of Campari and soda. The bottle's striking design resembled an upside down glass.
This wasn't just packaging—it was innovation. Camparisoda was arguably the world's first ready-to-drink cocktail, a category that wouldn't explode until nearly a century later. The conical bottle became an icon of Italian industrial design, displayed in museums alongside the works of the greatest product designers of the twentieth century.
Under Davide's direction, Gaspare's sons, Davide and Guido Campari, took over the business, continuing the family's involvement. Exports expanded, first to Nice on the French Riviera—a natural beachhead for the Mediterranean lifestyle Campari embodied—then overseas to markets as distant as the Americas and Asia.
Davide Campari died in 1936; ten years later, the company incorporated as Davide Campari-Milano S.p.A.
Davide's death marked the end of direct Campari family involvement. But the cultural and strategic foundations he laid—premium positioning, artistic brand-building, product innovation, international ambition—would guide the company through the decades to come.
IV. The Quiet Decades & Garavoglia Control (1940s–1990s)
The half-century following World War II represented a curious interregnum for Campari. The company remained concentrated on this core product for most of the rest of the century, even after Domenico Garavoglia gained control of it in the 1970s.
Domenico Garavoglia's path to controlling Campari reads like the plot of a European business saga. Luca Garavoglia was being born in Milan, to the sound of the city's most horrific incident, the Piazza Fontana Bombing. With Italy at stake of political terrorism, in the year 1969 the newborn Luca is just the third son of a Milanese employee, Domenico, who serves as the chemistry chief at the liquor maker Davide Campari.
Angiola Maria Migliavacca, the last heir of the Campari family, retired and made Garavoglia managing director in 1976. The company passed to Garavoglia six years later as a reward for his loyalty. He died in 1992.
This transition—from the founding Campari family to the Garavoglia stewardship—proved transformative, though its effects would not become apparent for years. By the 1960s, Campari Group's distribution power already reached over 80 countries. The brand had achieved what few Italian products had: global recognition.
But the company remained what modern strategists might call a "single-brand wonder." While competitors like Pernod Ricard and Diageo were assembling vast portfolios through aggressive acquisition, Campari stuck largely to its namesake product.
Then tragedy struck. He died in 1992. His son, Luca, became chairman in 1994.
The sudden death of Gianfranco Garavoglia in 1992 thrust the family into crisis. The company underwent significant restructuring, transitioning from tight family control to a more professionalized management structure—though the Garavoglia family maintained ultimate authority.
Luca Garavoglia (born 27 February 1969) is an Italian billionaire businessman, and the chairman of the Campari Group. Luca Garavoglia was born in Milan on 27 February 1969. He was educated at Milan's Istituto Leone XIII, and received a bachelor's degree in economics from Bocconi University, Milan in 1994. Garavoglia has been the chairman of Campari Group since September 1994.
A 25-year-old economics graduate taking the helm of a billion-lira enterprise would seem like a recipe for disaster. But Luca Garavoglia possessed a strategic clarity that belied his years. He understood something fundamental about the spirits industry: the window for independent companies was closing. The consolidation wave that had transformed beer and soft drinks was coming for spirits. Campari could either become an acquirer or become acquired.
In the 1990s, the consolidation of the global drinks market led Campari to build its own portfolio of brands.
The stage was set for Campari's transformation from a single-brand Italian champion into an acquisition machine that would rewrite the rules of the premium spirits industry.
V. The Acquisition Machine Awakens (1995–2003)
In the second half of the 1990s, the beverage industry was characterized by a strong M&A trend which led to the creation of corporations with global dimensions and remarkable portfolios. Therefore, Campari chose to expand not only via organic growth but also via external growth.
The young chairman's first significant move came in 1995. In 1995, Campari acquired the Italian branch of the Dutch Group BolsWessanen, which distributed Crodino, Cynar, Lemonsoda, Oransoda, Biancosarti and Crodo.
This deal was instructive. Rather than chasing trophy brands, Campari acquired a portfolio of regional Italian products with loyal consumer bases but untapped potential. Crodino—a non-alcoholic aperitif—would become central to the company's strategy of owning the Italian aperitivo occasion, whether customers wanted alcohol or not.
The 1998 SKYY Vodka deal revealed the strategic sophistication that would become Campari's hallmark. In 1998, Campari acquired a minority stake in Skyy Spirits LLC, owner of SKYY vodka, along with the world distribution rights (except for the USA). In return, Skyy Spirits LLC became the distributor for the whole Campari portfolio in the US.
This was a brilliantly structured reciprocal arrangement: Campari gained access to a premium American vodka brand and international distribution rights, while SKYY's American distributor gained the Italian company's portfolio. Both sides got what they needed most—Campari got a US distribution footprint, and SKYY got international reach. It was the first sign that Campari could compete with the industry giants not through scale, but through creative deal-making.
Campari acquired the Italian distribution rights of Lipton Ice Tea (1998), the anise-based Greek spirit Ouzo 12 (1999), the Italian vermouth Cinzano (1999).
The Cinzano acquisition was particularly significant. Founded in 1757, Cinzano had been one of Italy's most recognized vermouth brands for centuries. Adding it to the portfolio gave Campari ownership of key ingredients for multiple classic cocktails—a strategy that would pay dividends as cocktail culture exploded globally in the following decade.
The 2001 IPO: Unlocking Capital for the Next Phase
In July 2001, the group completed its IPO on the Borsa Italiana, in Italy's biggest IPO of the year. The shares were priced at the lower end of the indicative price range of 30 to 38. The initial public offering was three times oversubscribed.
Campari Group's journey to its current ownership structure began with its Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the Borsa Italiana in July 2001. This significant event marked its transition to a publicly traded entity, setting the stage for its subsequent growth and evolution in the global spirits market.
The IPO was a pivotal moment. It provided Campari with a public currency for acquisitions while allowing the Garavoglia family to maintain control. A year later, he bought the Italian soft drinks portfolio of Utrecht, Netherlands-based Royal Wessanen NV for 35 percent of Campari. The company sold shares in an initial public offering in 2001, leaving the family with 51 percent of the equity.
The Aperol Acquisition (2003): The Deal That Changed Everything
The true turning point for the Spritz on a global scale happened in December 2003 when the Campari Group purchased Aperol for €150 million ($160.6 million). At the time of the purchase, Aperol's yearly sales were less than €50 million, with approximately 50 percent of purchases coming from Italy.
When Campari bought Aperol, the orange aperitif was drunk almost exclusively in the Veneto region of northeastern Italy. It was beloved locally but virtually unknown elsewhere. Most analysts at the time viewed it as an unremarkable bolt-on to strengthen Campari's Italian aperitivo portfolio.
In 1919, Aperol joined the conversation, created by brothers Luigi and Silvio Barbieri who took seven years to perfect the recipe. Once these bitter liqueurs had been formulated, it didn't take long for people to start mixing them into their white wine Spritzers. While Select Aperitivo bills itself as the "Original Venetian Spritz," consumers were drawn to Aperol in particular for its lower alcohol content (just 11 percent ABV).
What Campari saw—and what most of the market missed—was that Aperol wasn't just a regional Italian curiosity. It was a perfectly positioned product for emerging global trends that hadn't yet fully materialized: the rise of Instagram and visual culture, the wellness movement's push toward lower-alcohol beverages, the premiumization of casual dining, and the globalization of Italian lifestyle.
Campari had just acquired a sleeping giant. The next two decades would be spent awakening it.
VI. The Aperol Spritz Phenomenon (2003–2025)
The "Sunshine in a Glass" Playbook
Aperol has quintupled its growth in the last 10 years, according to Campari, and in 2023, it grew sales by 23%. While the success of Aperol has garnered particular attention over the last few years, this is a brand that Campari has been building for more than 20 years since the group acquired it in 2003.
Those numbers deserve a moment of reflection. Aperol has quintupled its growth in a decade. This isn't the performance of a hot new brand riding a wave—it's the sustained, accelerating growth of what is now one of the most valuable spirits brands in the world. And it didn't happen by accident.
The Campari Group, who started making their namesake crimson apéritif back in 1860, took notice of Aperol's success, acquiring the brand in 2003. From there, the liqueur giant ran alcohol marketing 101 with one goal: make Aperol Spritz cool. A chart of Aperol's sales suggests that they pulled it off.
The Aperol marketing strategy represents a masterclass in modern brand-building. Rather than traditional mass advertising, Campari pursued a sophisticated grassroots approach.
The story of Aperol's boom in contemporary America is also indebted to the spritz. Campari pushed Aperol by marketing directly to bars and bartenders, seeking out "cool brunch spots" and other buzzy venues that would benefit from an instantly Instagrammable (yet easily made) drink.
Identifying Aperol as the perfect drink for post-recession Italy, with its affordability, lower alcohol content and natural ingredients, Gruppo Campari promoted the spritz as a "fun aperitivo", lifting spirits among bar-goers and providing an alternative to heavier spirits.
The timing was impeccable. The 2008 financial crisis had made consumers more price-conscious, and Aperol's low-alcohol content meant a €6-8 spritz could last longer than a stronger cocktail. Meanwhile, the rise of Instagram created a perfect platform for the drink's photogenic orange glow.
This "official" recipe gave way to the wildly successful "3-2-1" campaign that can be directly contributed to Aperol's success today. Although the end-of-day act of meeting up with friends for a spritz and a bite to eat has been customary in the Veneto region for decades, the campaign led to this practice spreading across the country, heavily resonating with younger audiences who could afford a more financially accessible social alternative accompanied with light snacks.
The 3-2-1 formula (three parts Prosecco, two parts Aperol, one part soda) was both a recipe and a marketing masterstroke. It gave consumers a foolproof formula for recreating the bar experience at home while making the drink entirely reproducible and therefore predictable—essential for building brand trust.
The Numbers Tell the Story
Just like Prosecco, Aperol enjoyed a wonderful sales year in 2022, with the Campari Group reporting a mammoth 390,000 case shipments to the U.S. (Twelve years prior, the Milan-based company was only shipping 9,000 cases to American distributors.)
Consider that trajectory: from 9,000 cases to 390,000 cases in twelve years. That's a forty-fold increase in the world's most competitive spirits market. The growth wasn't gradual—it was exponential, accelerating as cultural adoption built on itself.
Indeed, the craze for Aperol Spritz—the Italian-born apéritif cocktail that's taken over bars, restaurants, and liquor cabinets the world over—shows few signs of stopping, with sales growing another 6% in Q1 2024, building on the 44%+ growth notched the year before. Not bad for a 105-year-old drink.
Aperol's renaissance, which contributed €704M ($764M) in revenue to Campari Group last year, was no accident.
Today, Aperol alone generates more revenue than the entire Campari Group produced when it went public in 2001. A single brand acquisition—made for €150 million—now contributes over €700 million in annual sales. The return on that investment is almost incalculable.
Cultural Timing and the Low-ABV Trend
The rise of the mellow Aperol spritz coincided with trends around "sober curious" lifestyles and low- and no-alcohol beverages; it also didn't hurt that its photogenic cool only grew as bartenders started riffing with Aperol in other drinks.
The Aperol Spritz caught multiple cultural currents simultaneously. Millennials and Gen Z consumers, more health-conscious than previous generations, gravitated toward lower-alcohol options. The Instagram aesthetic rewarded visually striking drinks. And the broader premiumization trend made consumers willing to pay more for "quality" experiences, even simple ones.
According to data from CGA by NeilsonIQ, in 2023 alone, Spritz sales in the on-premise tripled year-over-year as consumers thirsted for lower alcohol, jumping eight spots to become the seventh most popular cocktail choice in the United States.
For investors, the Aperol story holds several lessons. First, brand value is not fixed—it can be unlocked through patient, strategic marketing. Second, the most valuable acquisitions often appear unremarkable at the time of purchase. Third, cultural trends can create enormous tailwinds for well-positioned products. And fourth, the best brands don't just participate in cultural movements—they help create and define them.
VII. The American Whiskey & Tequila Bet (2006–2015)
While Aperol was beginning its transformation from regional Italian curiosity to global phenomenon, Campari was simultaneously executing a completely different strategy in the Americas: building positions in whiskey and tequila, two categories that couldn't be further from Italian aperitivi.
Wild Turkey Acquisition (2009): Entering American Whiskey
Milan, 8 April 2009 - Gruppo Campari announces it has signed an agreement to acquire Wild Turkey from Pernod Ricard, marking the largest acquisition in Campari's history and cementing its position as a leading company in the US and international premium spirits markets.
In 2009, Campari SPA acquired the Wild Turkey Kentucky bourbon brand from Pernod Ricard under an asset purchase agreement for $582 million. The principal assets acquired were the Wild Turkey brand, maturing stocks, barrels, finished goods stocks (US, Japan & Australia) and the distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, and nearby warehousing facilities.
The Wild Turkey acquisition represented a strategic pivot. Campari wasn't merely adding another brand—it was entering the American whiskey category, one of the most dynamic and profitable segments in global spirits. The deal included not just the brand but the entire production infrastructure: the historic Lawrenceburg distillery, aging warehouses, and crucially, years of maturing bourbon inventory.
This acquisition is another key step in the building of a leading player in the global spirits industry. It is a unique opportunity to enter the attractive bourbon whiskey category and exploit its growth potential through a global and leading brand. The transaction demonstrates our commitment, in line with our strategy, of continuing growth in the profitable US spirits market.
Wild Turkey is a global brand with a total volume above 800,000 nine-liter cases sold in over 60 markets. The US is the brand's largest market, accounting for almost one-half of the brand's sales; Australia and Japan are respectively its second and third largest markets. The brand enjoys a successful track record of continuous growth in its category in key geographic markets.
Why did Pernod Ricard sell? The sale of Wild Turkey is an important part of the €1 billion disposal plan of non-strategic assets communicated after the Vin & Sprit acquisition. Pernod had overextended acquiring Absolut Vodka and needed to deleverage. Campari, with its conservative balance sheet and patient capital, was perfectly positioned to absorb a premium asset at an attractive price.
With Wild Turkey, the total investment by Campari in US acquisitions amounts to USD 1.1 billion (€ 0.9 billion).
Building the Agave Empire
The tequila strategy unfolded more gradually but proved equally significant. In 2006, Campari Group entered the Scotch whisky segment by acquiring from Pernod Ricard the brands Glen Grant (including its distillery), Old Smuggler and Braemar, and the tequila segment in 2007 with the acquisition of Cabo Wabo tequila.
The Cabo Wabo acquisition—founded by rock star Sammy Hagar—gave Campari its first foothold in tequila. But the real prize came in 2009 with the acquisition of Espolón, a premium tequila brand that would eventually become one of Campari's fastest-growing assets.
Since its IPO in 2001 it has managed to multiply its revenues and EBITDA 6x (Revenues 494 to €3Bn, EBITDA 105 to €0.65Bn) as a result of a strategy that has combined the acquisition of more than 30 companies since 1995 and its organic growth with brands such as Aperol going from a turnover of just €25 million in 2003 (acquisition) to more than €700MM today, or Tequila Espolón, which since 2009 (acquisition) has gone from invoicing just €10MM to almost €300MM today.
Caribbean Expansion
In December 2012, Campari Group announced the successful acquisition of Lascelles deMercado & Co. Limited, including four brands: Appleton Estate, Appleton Special/White, Wray & Nephew, and Coruba, the related upstream supply chain and the local distribution company.
The Jamaican rum portfolio added another dimension to Campari's American strategy. Appleton Estate, with its centuries of heritage and premium positioning, complemented the company's move toward high-margin spirits.
In March 2014, Campari Group purchased Canadian whisky producer Forty Creek Distillery Ltd. for $185.6 million (Canadian). The sale included 100% of the distillery, including all Forty Creek facilities and whisky stocks.
By the mid-2010s, Campari had assembled an impressive North American portfolio: bourbon, tequila, rum, and Canadian whisky. The company that had built its identity on Italian aperitivi now derived a significant portion of its revenue from American brown spirits and agave-based products.
For investors, the whiskey and tequila bets demonstrated Campari's willingness to move beyond its comfort zone when opportunities presented themselves. Each acquisition followed the same template: premium brands with authentic heritage, undervalued by larger owners, with potential for expansion through Campari's distribution network and marketing expertise.
VIII. Grand Marnier & Premium Positioning (2016–2020)
The Grand Marnier Coup
Campari Group's biggest acquisition to date was of Grand Marnier in 2016. In 2017, Campari acquired Bulldog London Dry Gin and then acquired French brand Bisquit Cognac in 2018.
Italian distiller Davide Campari-Milano SpA agreed to buy Grand Marnier Group in a deal valuing the French cognac maker at 684 million euros ($759 million), adding more high-end spirits to its portfolio.
A pivotal moment was the 2016 acquisition of Société des Produits Marnier Lapostolle (SPML), the owner of Grand Marnier, for approximately €684 million. This transaction involved an initial stake acquisition followed by provisions to secure majority control, underscoring the company's commitment to consolidating its market position.
Grand Marnier represented a significant strategic evolution. Unlike previous acquisitions—regional brands or undervalued assets from larger players disposing of non-core holdings—Grand Marnier was a genuine trophy brand with 150 years of heritage, global recognition, and premium positioning.
CASE B starts with the announcement of a friendly tender offer by Campari for Grand Marnier in March 2016. This was the largest acquisition in the 156 years of Campari's existence and also one of its most complex ones.
The deal's complexity stemmed from Grand Marnier's ownership structure: a publicly traded French family company with multiple stakeholders and a complex shareholder base. Campari had to navigate French securities law, family dynamics, and regulatory requirements across multiple jurisdictions.
Campari's biggest ever deal came in 2016, when it acquired Grand Marnier for US$760m. Campari's two biggest deals have both come in the past decade, with the group adding 70% of Kentucky Bourbon producer Wilderness Trail to its portfolio for $420m in October last year. That move was only dwarfed by its 2016 purchase of Grand Marnier.
Grand Marnier also gave Campari critical infrastructure in France—distillation capabilities, aging facilities, and expertise that would prove valuable for subsequent French acquisitions.
In 2017, Campari acquired Bulldog London Dry Gin and then acquired French brand Bisquit Cognac in 2018. In 2019, Campari Group purchased Rhumantilles, maker of French rums Trois Rivières and Maison La Mauny.
By the end of the decade, Campari had transformed its portfolio composition. What had been overwhelmingly Italian was now genuinely global, with significant positions in American whiskey, French liqueurs and cognac, Jamaican rum, Mexican tequila, and Caribbean spirits.
Campari Group has completed over 40 acquisitions since its 2001 IPO, totaling approximately €4 billion.
The acquisition record was remarkable: over 40 deals totaling approximately €4 billion in two decades. But equally important was what Campari hadn't done—it hadn't overpaid for bubble-era valuations, it hadn't leveraged itself into distress, and it hadn't lost sight of its core brand-building philosophy.
IX. Corporate Restructuring & Courvoisier (2020–2024)
The Netherlands Redomiciliation
Campari said on Tuesday it planned to move its registered office to the Netherlands and introduce a new loyalty share scheme, in a move aimed at increasing the Italian spirits group M&A opportunities.
CEO Bob Kunze-Concewitz confirmed the transfer of the registered office to the Netherlands and the adoption of a flexible share capital structure is being arranged in order to allow the Italian spirits maker to "pursue further growth through external opportunities and underpin a long-term committed shareholder base, in line with our strategic guidance".
The 2020 redomiciliation to the Netherlands was controversial among Italian politicians and some shareholders, but strategically significant. The move allowed Campari to introduce an enhanced loyalty share scheme—a mechanism rewarding long-term shareholders with additional voting rights.
The redomiciliation transactions closed on July 7, 2020.
Campari Group's voting power is significantly influenced by its loyalty share mechanism, which rewards long-term shareholders with enhanced voting rights. Ordinary shares carry one vote, but holding shares for two, five, or ten years can convert them into Special Voting Shares A (2 votes), B (5 votes), or C (10 votes) respectively. Further, Special Ordinary Shares can offer up to 20 votes per share.
The loyalty share structure served a dual purpose: it protected against hostile takeovers while giving the Garavoglia family enhanced control even as their economic stake diluted through equity issuance for acquisitions. This allowed Campari to pursue larger deals—funded partially through stock—without the family losing voting control.
Courvoisier Acquisition (2023): The $1.2B Cognac Bet
Campari has committed to acquiring cognac Courvoisier from Beam Suntory for an initial price of $1.2 billion, amounting to the biggest deal in the Italian spirit group's history.
On December 14th, 2023, Campari announced the completion of a deal for the acquisition of Beam Holding France, which owns 100% of the share capital of Courvoisier. The purchase price was €1.11 billion (USD 1.20 billion at the December 14th, 2023, exchange rate).
Courvoisier, one of the world's four major cognac houses, represented Campari's most ambitious acquisition yet. Founded in 1828—the same year Gaspare Campari was born—Courvoisier had supplied Napoleon himself and maintained prestige positioning for nearly two centuries.
The addition of Courvoisier cognac to our portfolio of global priorities is a rare and unique opportunity to expand our premium spirits portfolio and cognac offering. By leveraging our heavy cognac expertise at Board and Executive Team level, Campari Group has a fantastic opportunity to reinforce this brand's credentials as a global icon of luxury, priming cognac to become Campari Group's fourth major leg along with aperitifs, bourbon and tequila.
The timing raised eyebrows. The cognac category had been struggling, hit by destocking, reduced demand in China, and competition from other premium spirits categories. Shares in Campari fell 5% at open on Friday after the Italian spirits group announced its biggest acquisition to date.
Established in 1828 by Félix Courvoisier in Jarnac, within the Charente region of France, Maison Courvoisier has grown to be a venerable name in the cognac arena. In 2022, the business, inclusive of the Salignac brand, notched up net sales totaling €249 million.
Courvoisier, which will enter the organic growth perimeter from 2025, recorded sales of 75 million euros and has already started investments in the United States and Asia Pacific.
CEO Transition & New Leadership
In September, after only five months in office, Matteo Fantacchiotti, who had taken over from Bob Kunze-Concewitz, had resigned as CEO and board member for personal reasons.
The abrupt departure of Fantacchiotti—who had been groomed as heir apparent—created leadership uncertainty at a critical moment. Campari Group has selected Simon Hunt as new chief executive officer. Hunt succeeds interim co-CEOs Paolo Marchesini, chief financial and operating officer, and Fabio Di Fede, chief legal and M&A officer.
Hunt has 30 years of experience in the spirits industry, including 14 years at William Grant & Sons, for which company he served as CEO from 2016 to 2020. During his time at William Grant & Sons, Hunt also held roles as president & managing director of North America and chief commercial officer.
The former boss of William Grant & Sons, Simon Hunt, has been selected as the new CEO for Italy's Campari Group. Hunt has more than 30 years of experience in the spirits industry, working for companies such as Diageo, Pernod Ricard, and William Grant & Sons, where he was CEO for nearly five years.
Hunt's appointment marked a new era. An Australian-British industry veteran with experience across Diageo, Pernod Ricard, and William Grant & Sons, he brought operational depth and global perspective to a company entering a challenging period.
X. Current Challenges & 2025 Transition
Financial Snapshot
Group sales totalled €3,070 million, up +2.4% in organic terms (+5.2% on a reported basis).
Net sales reached €3.07 billion reflecting a 5.2% increase on a reported basis, with the acquisition of Courvoisier playing a notable role in boosting the top line. Net sales reached €3.07 billion reflecting a 5.2% increase on a reported basis. Yet, organic EBIT-adjusted slipped by 2.5% to €605 million, reflecting a 100 basis points margin dilution. The group's net profit-adjusted declined 3.7% to €376 million, while the unadjusted figure saw a more sobering 39% drop to €202 million.
This was partly due to a €213 million charge linked to a three-year cost containment programme.
The 2024 results revealed the tension facing Campari: revenue growth driven partly by acquisitions, but profitability pressure from a challenging operating environment. The 39% drop in unadjusted net profit—largely driven by restructuring charges—spooked some investors.
The Americas (45% of group sales) saw 4% organic growth, with the US remaining flat but bolstered by a 12% surge in Espolòn Tequila and an 11% rise in Aperol. Jamaica, despite the summer's hurricane-induced supply shortages, eked out a 1% gain. Meanwhile, Europe (48% of sales) grew by 3%, despite Italy's 4% decline, which was offset by Germany's 5% increase, driven by Aperol and the pink-hued Sarti Rosa. Elsewhere, Asia-Pacific shrank by 6%, with Australia down 6% and India and South Korea underperforming.
Tariff Headwinds
One of the most critical factors for 2025 will be the impact of 25% import duties from Mexico, Canada (and soon Europe) imposed by the Trump administration. Campari estimates a negative effect of 90-100 million euros.
According to Citi, Campari imports 27% of its U.S. sales from Mexico and Canada. Italian spirits group Campari has three production sites in Mexico, the main one producing tequila under its EspolĂłn brand, and one in Canada, producing Canadian whisky brand Forty Creek.
The tariff exposure is particularly acute for Campari given its significant Mexican production (EspolĂłn and other tequilas) and Canadian operations (Forty Creek). "Twenty-eight percent of our sales are in the US, and within that about 70% of our products are imported, so it does have a material impact for us," said Hunt. "On an annualised basis, it's probably US$90-odd million."
Strategic Response: House of Brands
The company is aiming to further premiumize its portfolio by shifting to a "House of Brands" marketing structure, while looking to sell off non-core labels. According to the company, the move will allow it to "fully exploit the long-term potential of our diversified portfolio with increasing share of aged premium spirits. In addition to the already created House of Cognac & Champagne, the new model will include the House of Aperitifs, House of Whiskey and Rum, as well as the House of Tequila."
It follows an announcement in October 2024 that a cost containment program would be undertaken by the Group as part of a switch to a 'Houses of Brands' operating model. The new Houses of Brands are: the House of Cognac & Champagne; the House of Aperitifs; House of Whiskey and Rum; and the House of Tequila Each house will focus on premiumisation and be responsible for its global category profit and loss and resource allocation.
The House of Brands restructuring represents Campari's most significant organizational change in decades. Each "house" will have end-to-end P&L responsibility, allowing for more focused brand-building and clearer accountability.
Portfolio Pruning
Italy's Campari Group has agreed to sell Cinzano vermouth for €100 million (US$117m) as it looks to streamline its portfolio. Under the deal, private Italian spirits company Caffo Group 1915 will own the Cinzano vermouth and sparkling wine brand, as well as the Frattina grappa and sparkling wine business. Milan-headquartered Campari said the sale was part of its move to dispose of non-core brands to 'enhance commercial and marketing focus' on its key spirits brands, simplify its operations and reduce outstanding debt.
The Cinzano sale was particularly noteworthy—this was a brand Campari had acquired in 1999 and held for over two decades. But the company's strategic calculus had evolved: Cinzano's vermouth category growth prospects couldn't compete for resources against the aperitif, tequila, and cognac opportunities.
Rumours in Milan suggest that Campari is in negotiations to sell three Italian bitters brands, Averna, Braulio and Zedda Piras, as part of the programme to prune its portfolio of weaker-performing lines.
Recently, at the group's 'Strategy Day', CEO Simon Hunt said that Campari's strategy is to focus on the strongest, highest potential and most profitable brands such as Aperol, Espolòn, Campari, Courvoisier, Wild Turkey. On the other hand, the CEO said that around 30 brands would be potentially disposable, even though they represent 9% of total turnover.
For investors, this signals a significant strategic shift. After two decades of portfolio expansion through acquisition, Campari is now actively shrinking its brand count to concentrate resources on its highest-potential assets.
XI. Ownership Structure & Family Control
Following the death of his mother, Rosa Anna Magno Garavoglia on 22 November 2016, it was announced that her son Luca Garavoglia, chairman of Campari "would now assume control of Alicros, which owns 51 percent of Campari's equity, and an even greater share of voting rights".
Lagfin said that since it holds more than 80% of Campari's voting rights, the seizure is "absolutely unable" to affect its position as Campari's controlling shareholder. With ties to the family of Campari Group Chairman Luca Garavoglia, Lagfin started in 1995 and its primary purpose is as Campari's controlling stakeholder, with more than 50% of its shares.
The Garavoglia family structure is unusual in publicly traded beverage companies. Through Lagfin S.C.A., the Luxembourg-based holding company, the family maintains over 50% of economic ownership and over 80% of voting rights—making Campari effectively immune to hostile takeover while still accessing public equity markets for acquisition financing.
Luca Garavoglia is an Italian billionaire businessman. As of September 2024, his net worth is estimated at US$3.8 billion.
Italian tax authorities have seized Campari shares worth €1.29 billion from its Luxembourg-based holding company, Lagfin, amid allegations of tax fraud. The Garavoglia family, which controls the group, rejects any wrongdoing. Those indicted as legal representatives of Lagfin are Luca Garavoglia, head of the family group and the company chairman, and Giovanni Berto, who leads the Italian branch of Campari. Investigators say that the Garavoglia family did not pay the exit tax resulting from the cross-border merger between Alicros, the previous holding company of the group, which was based in Italy and Lagfin, which is legally domiciled in Luxembourg.
The November 2025 tax investigation represents a significant overhang. While Lagfin maintains it has "always acted in the most scrupulous respect of any applicable laws and regulations," the €1.29 billion seizure creates uncertainty. However, if prosecutors' allegations are ultimately confirmed, the Garavoglia family could opt to sell Campari shares on the market to pay the tax bill, a scenario that creates an overhang on the stock. In previous similar tax evasion cases, companies under investigation reached settlements with the Italian authorities which led to a significant reduction in the amounts paid. Mediobanca estimates that under a settlement, Lagfin could pay 25% to 40% of the initial amount being claimed.
For investors, the ownership structure presents both advantages and risks. On one hand, family control provides strategic continuity and long-term orientation that public-company short-termism often undermines. On the other hand, concentrated control limits investor influence and creates governance concerns, particularly given the tax investigation.
XII. Bull Case & Bear Case
The Bull Case
Campari occupies a distinctive position in global spirits: large enough to have global distribution and brand-building capabilities, but small enough to remain nimble and growth-oriented. Several factors support an optimistic view:
Aperol's Continued Growth Potential: Despite extraordinary growth, Aperol remains underpenetrated in key markets. The U.S. spritz category has tripled recently and Aperol has plenty of room for growth. The brand has demonstrated resilience across economic cycles and continues gaining market share.
House of Brands Optimization: The organizational restructuring should improve capital allocation and marketing efficiency, allowing each category to pursue its optimal strategy rather than competing for corporate attention.
Tequila Tailwinds: EspolĂłn has been one of the fastest-growing tequila brands in the U.S., benefiting from the category's premiumization trend. With production infrastructure in place and brand momentum building, this segment could become increasingly material.
Portfolio Quality: After decades of acquisition, Campari owns genuine premium brands with authentic heritage—Wild Turkey's 80+ year history, Grand Marnier's Napoleon association, Appleton Estate's centuries of rum-making. These aren't manufactured brands; they're accumulated cultural capital.
Family Control Advantages: The Garavoglia structure allows for patient capital deployment and resistance to short-term pressures that might force suboptimal decisions.
The Bear Case
Several risks warrant serious consideration:
Tariff Exposure: With 27% of U.S. sales imported from Mexico and Canada, tariff exposure is significant. The estimated €90-100 million annual impact represents meaningful earnings headwind.
Cognac Timing Risk: The Courvoisier acquisition occurred during category weakness. If cognac doesn't recover, Campari paid top-dollar for a struggling asset.
Consumer Behavior Shifts: The "sober curious" movement that helped Aperol could eventually turn against alcohol entirely. Gen Z drinks less than previous generations, and this trend may accelerate.
Integration Execution: The House of Brands restructuring requires execution. Organizational changes often destroy value before creating it, and Campari has limited experience with this type of transformation.
Tax Investigation Overhang: The Lagfin investigation creates uncertainty around the controlling shareholder structure.
Porter's Five Forces Analysis
Supplier Power (Moderate): Key inputs include grapes, agave, grains, and glass packaging. While no single supplier dominates, certain inputs (aged spirits inventory, quality agave) face supply constraints.
Buyer Power (Low-Moderate): Campari sells through distributors and retailers who have some bargaining power, but premium brands with strong consumer pull can resist price pressure.
Threat of Substitutes (Moderate-High): Non-alcoholic beverages, cannabis products, and the sober curious movement represent growing substitution threats.
Threat of New Entry (Low): Brand-building in premium spirits requires decades and enormous marketing investment. Heritage and authenticity cannot be manufactured quickly.
Competitive Rivalry (High): Competition from Diageo, Pernod Ricard, and other major players is intense, particularly in the U.S. market.
Hamilton Helmer's 7 Powers Assessment
Campari demonstrates several sustainable competitive advantages:
Scale Economies: Moderate. Campari has some scale in production and distribution but remains much smaller than Diageo or Pernod.
Network Effects: Limited. Spirits brands don't exhibit traditional network effects.
Counter-Positioning: Strong. Campari's focus on authenticity and heritage creates positioning larger competitors struggle to replicate through acquisition.
Switching Costs: Low for individual consumers but higher for distributors with established relationships.
Brand: Very Strong. This is Campari's primary moat. Aperol's association with the Italian aperitivo lifestyle, Wild Turkey's bourbon heritage, and Grand Marnier's luxury positioning all represent genuine brand power.
Cornered Resource: Moderate. The recipes are proprietary, and aged spirits inventory represents scarce assets, but most can theoretically be replicated.
Process Power: Moderate. Campari's acquisition integration and brand-building capabilities represent developed organizational knowledge, though not unique.
XIII. Key Metrics to Watch
For investors monitoring Campari's ongoing performance, three KPIs stand out as most critical:
1. Aperol Organic Sales Growth
Aperol represents approximately 23% of group sales and a much higher proportion of profit contribution. The brand's organic growth rate—currently tracking around 5% after several years of 20%+ growth—indicates whether the spritz phenomenon is maturing or still has room to run. Any sustained deceleration below mid-single-digits would raise questions about the growth narrative.
2. Americas Region Organic Growth
With 45% of sales and the highest growth potential, the Americas region (particularly the U.S.) determines Campari's medium-term trajectory. This metric captures performance across the portfolio—Aperol gaining share, Espolón riding tequila trends, Wild Turkey's bourbon positioning, and Courvoisier's relaunch efforts.
3. EBIT-Adjusted Margin
As Campari executes its House of Brands restructuring and absorbs Courvoisier, margin performance will reveal whether the organizational transformation is delivering efficiency gains or creating friction. The company's historic margin profile of 19-20% of sales provides a benchmark; meaningful improvement would validate the strategic changes, while deterioration would suggest integration challenges.
XIV. Conclusion: The Next 165 Years
In the heart of Milan's Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, where Gaspare Campari once served his ruby-red bitter to the Milanese elite, tourists now sip Aperol Spritz at prices that would have astonished that nineteenth-century barman. The physical café is long gone, but its spiritual descendants operate in over 190 countries.
Campari Group stands at an inflection point. After two decades of relentless acquisition, the company is consolidating, restructuring, and refocusing. The acquisition machine has shifted into portfolio optimization mode. A new CEO with fresh perspective leads an organization designed for a different era. External headwinds—tariffs, consumer behavior shifts, macroeconomic uncertainty—test the business model.
Yet the fundamental assets remain compelling. Aperol has become one of the most valuable spirits brands created in the past half-century. The American whiskey and tequila portfolios position Campari in dynamic, growing categories. The family ownership structure provides strategic continuity that public-company shareholders rarely enjoy.
The central question for investors is whether Campari can evolve its strategy while maintaining the patient, brand-building discipline that built the portfolio in the first place. The spirits industry rewards those who think in decades rather than quarters—who understand that brand equity compounds slowly but powerfully, like the aged spirits maturing in their barrels.
Gaspare Campari understood this when he perfected his bitter recipe over years of experimentation. Davide Campari understood it when he commissioned Futurist artists to create enduring brand imagery. Luca Garavoglia understood it when he began assembling a portfolio that now spans continents and categories.
The next chapter of the Campari story will reveal whether that patient discipline can survive in an era of quarterly earnings pressure, tariff uncertainty, and accelerating consumer change. For a company that has already outlasted kingdoms, world wars, and technological revolutions, the odds of adaptation seem reasonable.
But then again, the spirits industry has buried plenty of confident predictions along with countless forgotten brands. The only certainty is that somewhere, right now, someone is raising an orange-hued glass and toasting to la dolce vita—and that simple act, multiplied hundreds of millions of times per year, is what ultimately determines Campari's fate.
Salute.
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