TOAST TO GOOD TIMES - WEBB Banks speaks to Martin Green on post-pandemic uplift optimism

A leading wine and spirits distributor in the Caribbean and Central America is con!- dent that the region will soon return to full strength.

Andy Consuegra, chief executive of Webb Banks, says occupancy levels in high-end hotels in the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico have returned to 90%. Visitor numbers are still down significantly in countries that lack the healthcare infrastructure to deal with any large Covid-19 outbreaks, but vaccinations are being rapidly rolled out across developed nations, and tourism chiefs expect an influx later this year.

“The next couple of months will be a bit bumpy, but we think that’s just a short-term issue,” says Consuegra. “Cases are beginning to drop. The vaccines are beginning to get out there. People are feeling more comfortable to travel. It won’t be a normal high season, but by summer things should be looking up and by next high season I’m pretty optimistic that we can get back to normalcy.”

Consuegra has enjoyed a 29-year career in the region, so he is fully accustomed to dealing with crises, from hurricanes and earthquakes to currency deflation. “I don’t feel good until around Christmas time, because that September-October and early November period [hurricane season] is frightening. We have to think that through and be nimble there.

“We are nervous about the short-term, but optimistic for the medium and long-term, because of the brands that we have, the partnerships we have and our scale, we feel we are in a good place to accelerate coming out of this. That’s something I learned working in Latin America for big companies. In moments of crisis, you have to retract, but you also have to know when it’s time to rebuild that boat and start accelerating. We’re excited about this year and going forward.”

Consuegra was born in Miami to Cuban parents. He has always had an entrepreneurial streak and he was keen to set up his own business after graduating with an MBA from NYU. He had spent time promoting nightclubs in New York and Boston before studying for the MBA – his family worked in restaurants and nightclubs in Cuba, and a love of the on-trade clearly rubbed o( on him – and he was offered a brand manager job at distributor Heublein in 1992.

“I wanted to get into the entrepreneurial area, but I felt like I needed some more experience, so I had a great opportunity to work for Heublein in different parts of the business. I thought this was perfect. I was going to work there for two years and then start my own business.”

He ended up spending 11 years there. Heublein was part of Grand Metropolitan, which later became Diageo. He managed the integration of United Distillers and International Distillers & Vintners in Latin America during the $20 billion merger between Grand Metropolitan and Guinness. During the formation of Diageo, Consuegra was the head of strategy in the region, reporting to Ivan Menezes, who now runs the company. He then spent four years as vice president for marketing at Diageo in Brazil, before joining Allied Domecq as regional vice president and general manager for duty free.

When Pernod Ricard bought out Allied Domecq, he became managing director for Mexico at Beam. Finally, in late 2007, after working for the world’s biggest drinks companies for 15 years, he was ready to start his own business. The timing was distinctly unfortunate.

Bear Stearns had started to liquidate hedge funds, banks were 'ling for bankruptcy after failing to securitise subprime mortgage loans and, in the UK, investor panic led to a bank run on Northern Rock. Consuegra was putting the final touches to his business plan and starting to distribute his first brands when the likes of Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac collapsed, the global economy came crashing down and the worst financial crisis in decades unfolded.

BUILDING BUSINESS

Consuegra had convinced his wife to help him run the nascent business – called Webb, which is an acronym for World Equity Brand Builders – and they slept above their once in Wynwood, Miami, while getting it o) the ground. Berry Bros & Rudd entrusted them with distributing the Cutty Sark scotch whisky brand in the region, and they worked hard to secure listings, despite tourism dwindling in the wake of the financial crisis.

Over the years, they built the business, slowly but surely, and gained a real shot in the arm when they secured a distribution agreement with Macallan producer Edrington in 2015. In January 2017, Webb merged with Banks – founded by Robert Bowman a couple of years before Consuegra set up Webb – to create a regional powerhouse. Bowman is now chairman of Webb Banks, and Consuegra is chief executive. The 'rm has a vast and impressive portfolio of premium wine and spirits brands, including Berringer, Penfolds, Caymus, Disaronno, The Macallan, Tia Maria, Jägermeister, Brugal, Famous Grouse, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Highland Park, Gnarly Head, Dow’s port, Frescobaldi, Licor 43, Ramon Bilbao, Robert Mondavi, Shafer, Ramey, Rodney Strong, Whistlepig, Freixenet, Mionetto and many more, plus a couple of beers and ciders via an agreement with C&C.

“When the strategic fit is there, when the cultural fit is there, one plus one is 10, not two,” says Consuegra. “We are now about five to six times larger than we were in 2017, and it really gave us that scale. We are the number one supplier of wine and spirits to 25 wholesalers in the Caribbean and number two to five more. We are the number one supplier to Atlantis. We also supply Sandals direct, so having that critical mass from that merger really helped us grow organically and also attract new brands.

“With the critical mass you can weather storms better, figuratively and literally, so that’s why that merger was so important. We feel we are coming out of this [the pandemic] in a strong position, even with the pandemic. That was a big storm. We went into it in a good place, and we are optimistic about things.”

Consuegra says that demand for premium spirits and wine has remained high over the past year in nations with strong local economies, such as Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Panama, and the US Virgin Islands. “We did very well last year in those islands, and that helped offset some of the declines elsewhere.” Countries heavily reliant on tourism, including Barbados, Saint Lucia, Antigua and Turks & Caicos struggled during lengthy lockdowns.

“I love the Caribbean business,” says Consuegra. “It’s a fascinating place. It’s really a microcosm of the whole world, with the history and all the different cultures – the Spanish islands, the French islands, the Dutch islands, the English islands and the American islands – and you mix it all together and you have a fascinating place. Within that, you have some islands that are entirely dependent on tourism, that have taken a big hit this year.”

When asked to name markets that stand to bounce back quickly, he says: “Puerto Rico is just the most resilient place on the planet. They just find a way to keep going, through hurricanes and earthquakes and the pandemic. That’s a$er years of recession as well. They seem to be in a good place. There were some US tax incentives that attracted many businesses to move there. That has helped. Americans feel comfortable to travel there as it is part of the US, so that puts Puerto Rico in a very good place.

“The Virgin Islands are similar. The Dominican Republic has a very strong, brand-oriented consumer, an AB consumer there. There’s a lot of potential there. The Bahamas continue to attract good tourism. I think you’re going to see them go a little bit more upscale. It’s fascinating what’s going on with the Cayman Islands, how they’re attracting high net worth individuals. Their sales pitch to those people is very strong, very tight. It’s a very safe, healthy, self-contained place.

“One of the interesting trends that helped us was at the very high end. The very high net worth individual continued going down into these islands. They frankly didn’t have to rely on commercial service. They can go over in their mega-yachts and private planes. The Cayman Islands have done very well. Certain islands in the Bahamas, like Harbour Island, St Barts, at that high level it was a very good year. Macallan has done well there, Penfolds has done well, Caymus, Shafer – all the very high-end brands have done very well because of that.”

It is important for distributors in the region to have strong teams full of individuals who speak the various languages and understand the nuances of commerce in each market. “As a former strategist I always say, culture eats strategy for breakfast,” says Consuegra. “You can have the best strategy in the world, but if you don’t have a great way of working it’s difficult to pull that off. Both Robert and I were focused on maintaining a great culture, of retaining and hiring great people. We have very little turnover. We always tried to create a business that’s about the team and the brands we distribute. You need people with the history, who know the nuances of each island and how business is done there, what the trends are, what they’re consuming. That takes a lot of experience.

“We pivoted pretty fast after the pandemic, and now we’re feeling good, certainly in the medium to long term. People want to get away. The demand is there.”

Source: www.drinksint.com