Havana Club: What's in a Name
"this is a song Charles Manson stole from the Beatles.
We're stealing it back."
-- U2 lead singer Bono, introducing "Helter Skelter"
in 1878, a Basque immigrant named Jose Arechabala built a rum distillery in the Cuban coastal town of Cardenas. his rums were a hit, and the business took off. it was a classic story of rags-to-riches success.
after years of continued production, the company hit a new high in 1935 with the introduction of what would become a classic: Havana Club, a light, aged rum with mature flavors, a delicate palate, and a delicious finish (to be frank, a rum like no other rum before it).
and so, one would have thought that the company's success was assured. not so in Cuba. in 1959, King Castro came to power. in 1960, under his orders, many businesses were taken over by the state with no real compensation to their owners.
the Havana Club plant manager at that time, a direct descendant of the founder, found himself with a pistol to his head as an Rebel officer told him, "this factory doesn't belong to you anymore."
unlike Bacardi (also a Cuban rum maker, founded in 1862), the Arechabala company did not survive the hostile takeover. as everybody knows, Bacardi was able to transplant its rum business to the Bahamas, then to Puerto Rico, and finally to the U.S., where it does quite well today.
not so Arechabala. the Havana Club trademark was allowed to expire, in 1973, and Cuba snapped it up. in the meantime, it had been selling Havana Club to the Soviet Block, but the brand had otherwise been languishing.
havana club for export to the Soviet block
enter Pernod Ricard. in 1993, the French beverage king signed a partnership agreement with Cuba to market Havana Club, and sales simply took off, mainly in Europe, Canada and Mexico.
overnight, the world re-discovered a stolen treasure. see full story
in the age of the internet, no marketing campaign could be complete without a website, and Havana Club ended up with a very nice site indeed, worth visiting if for nothing else, the classic rendition of "Havana Club," a song i understand used to be a sales ditty for the company.
well ... re-enter Bacardi. recently, the US denied Cuba renewal of the Havana Club mark. Bacardi made a deal with the Arechabala family, and has started marketing rum in the US market under the name Havana Club. Bacardi is only selling the rum in the U.S., but that's 40% of the world market for rum. while Pernod Ricard can't sell "their" Havana Club here right now, if trade sanctions are ever lifted, it would then have to compete with Bacardi's Havana Club which, by then, may very well be entrenched in the market.
Pernod Ricard and Cuba are, to say the least, somewhat pissed off.
i say, serves them right. what comes around goes around.
and at least Bacardi didn't take over Havana Club at the point of a gun.
We're stealing it back."
-- U2 lead singer Bono, introducing "Helter Skelter"
in 1878, a Basque immigrant named Jose Arechabala built a rum distillery in the Cuban coastal town of Cardenas. his rums were a hit, and the business took off. it was a classic story of rags-to-riches success.
after years of continued production, the company hit a new high in 1935 with the introduction of what would become a classic: Havana Club, a light, aged rum with mature flavors, a delicate palate, and a delicious finish (to be frank, a rum like no other rum before it).
and so, one would have thought that the company's success was assured. not so in Cuba. in 1959, King Castro came to power. in 1960, under his orders, many businesses were taken over by the state with no real compensation to their owners.
the Havana Club plant manager at that time, a direct descendant of the founder, found himself with a pistol to his head as an Rebel officer told him, "this factory doesn't belong to you anymore."
unlike Bacardi (also a Cuban rum maker, founded in 1862), the Arechabala company did not survive the hostile takeover. as everybody knows, Bacardi was able to transplant its rum business to the Bahamas, then to Puerto Rico, and finally to the U.S., where it does quite well today.
not so Arechabala. the Havana Club trademark was allowed to expire, in 1973, and Cuba snapped it up. in the meantime, it had been selling Havana Club to the Soviet Block, but the brand had otherwise been languishing.
havana club for export to the Soviet block
enter Pernod Ricard. in 1993, the French beverage king signed a partnership agreement with Cuba to market Havana Club, and sales simply took off, mainly in Europe, Canada and Mexico.
overnight, the world re-discovered a stolen treasure. see full story
in the age of the internet, no marketing campaign could be complete without a website, and Havana Club ended up with a very nice site indeed, worth visiting if for nothing else, the classic rendition of "Havana Club," a song i understand used to be a sales ditty for the company.
well ... re-enter Bacardi. recently, the US denied Cuba renewal of the Havana Club mark. Bacardi made a deal with the Arechabala family, and has started marketing rum in the US market under the name Havana Club. Bacardi is only selling the rum in the U.S., but that's 40% of the world market for rum. while Pernod Ricard can't sell "their" Havana Club here right now, if trade sanctions are ever lifted, it would then have to compete with Bacardi's Havana Club which, by then, may very well be entrenched in the market.
Pernod Ricard and Cuba are, to say the least, somewhat pissed off.
i say, serves them right. what comes around goes around.
and at least Bacardi didn't take over Havana Club at the point of a gun.
posted by Yimboro | 5:29 PM
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