Ultimate fusion of Miolo, Benedetti and Randon opens a new horizon in the national wine industry
Christian Burgos
The Miolo Group has been paving the roads of national wine industry in the last decade and also has been a model for many other wineries. Adriano Miolo was the first Brazilian producer to occupy the pages of ADEGA interviews and since our first issue we follow the steps of this “giant” of domestic production, not always loved but respected by the entire market.
The promise of growing five times, prevision for 2020 with annual sales of $ 500 million, could be taken lightly by any party group that had not less than U.S. $ 1 million in 2000 to U.S. $ 100 million turnover in 2010 (an impressive growth of 100 times in 10 years).
Before the disclosure of the merger of group companies for the Miolo Wines S / A announced on the last day of October, ADEGA met the brothers Adriano and Alexandre Miolo for a chat to exchange ideas on the market and understand the sequence of events, positive and negative, that connect the small winery Miolo before 2000 to its current size and power.
Crucial change
We identify 2009 as the year of great transformation. Initially, in March, was born the Miolo Wine Group, a joint property of the families Miolo, Randon and Benedetti, responsible for the distribution of the wines produced by the wineries of the three families. At the end of the year, came the big leap, not without drawbacks and risks, with the acquisition of Almaden Winery, already in the assemble.
Thus, a new vision was established according to Adriano Miolo, “until that time, the company still mingled with family” and its members were businessmen who were years ahead of their company. At that moment, began a process of extreme professionalization that in the eyes of the market by putting the decision-making power away from the family by hiring a CEO, directors and managers. The company swelled and not hit his stride, but sometimes business decisions are made for a reason and then realize that making mistakes helps to hit another target.
The Company has grown 10 times in 10 years, leaving less than 1 million in 2000 to 100 million dollars in revenues in 2010. Next goal: 500 million
In this case, the company swelled to not lose the value of what he was buying and doubled its size. Duplications, overlaps and inefficiencies were built, tolerated and even necessary to ensure that there would be beyond the labor needed to run the company and at the same time organize the merger.
Miolo Wines S / A is the ultimate combination of five companies – Miolo (Valley of the Vineyards / RS), Project Seival Estate Winery and Almaden (Campanha / RS) and Ouro Verde Winery (São Francisco Valley / BA), and the trader Miolo Wine Group
New plans
With the current merger, Miolo optimizes its structure, gains scale and prepares plans for the coming years, the company intends to jump from the current 1,200 to 2,000 hectares of its own vineyards and from 12 million to 20 million liters of wine and sparkling wine.
A bold productive reorganization and portfolio can be followed from the purchase of Almaden. This product had an “extreme makeover” with redesign and improvement in quality (as stated surprises we had in ADEGA in blind tastings). Far beyond the modernization of labels and closure with screw cap, the big change came in the style of wine, which migrated to dry and that, contrary to common sense, gained more fans than your “sweetie” version demonstrating that the market yearned for a product under $ 15 with the quality of traditionally more expensive wines.
At the time of purchase of Almaden, all the people at Miolo perceived the hundreds of acres of vineyards as the great asset purchase but time has shown Adriano “the Almaden brand, despite years without receiving investments, was very strong, a value that not appear in numbers. “Also during this period, as the lines were abandoned Fortaleza Seival to concentrate focus on the strongest brands and mark the space in each portfolio company.
The construction of the facility winery at Quinta do Seival and the transfer of many wines from the Vale dos Vinhedos to over there also occur during this phase and resulted in marked improvement in the quality of sparkling wines.
Adriano points out that “the group will have three strong brands. Miolo will strengthen their concept of premium wine brand. The Terranova winery with young and innovative concept. And the Almaden will be increased in its concept of excellent cost benefit. “
The trading company Miolo Wine Group was a rehearsal of future merger in which all the business conflicts were identified – not as equitable participation in various projects, conflicts and even brand portfolio. Furthermore, if on one hand the Miolo family had something to learn in the category of professional management, Benedetti and Randon families had to learn from the Miolo about the wine industry.
Finally the members recognized that, with several companies and large projects, the dating period had passed and it was time to organize the group. In the end Miolo and Benedetti were already partners at Ouro Verde since 2000 and the Randon relationship began in 2001 with the project RAR.
Consulting
Experts such as Price Waterhouse Coopers, who advised Pernod Ricard on the sale of Almaden, were hired to support this new stage. Adriano emphasizes that the consultancy has acquired a lot of information and knowledge of the wine market in the Almaden negotiation and that it was fondamental in structuring a large project wines and assemble a group which included not only the commercial area but the entire production process and assets to present synergy complementing each other and were able to be incorporated rationally.
In this assessment it was decided, for example, that the assets of the winery Lovara would not compose the Miolo Wines S / A. Adriano stressed that the boutique winery, which is still served by the new group, is a historical, “the house where it meets the family and the business of wine Benedetti is the Miolo Wines S / A”. The same happened to the vineyards of the RAR.
Beyond Price, strategic planning consultants were hired, an expert company in family succession (who has worked for Randon) and formed a multidisciplinary group that counted up to psychologists in an effort of nearly two years.
Traded?
The final association of five companies – Miolo (Vale dos Vinhedos / RS), Project Seival Estate and Almaden Winery (Campanha / RS) and Ouro Verde Winery (São Francisco Valley / BA), and the trader Miolo Wine Group – has optimized structures such as points Adriano remembering that “now we manage not five boxes but only one and we are organized to run a business in five years from 50 to 650 employees.”
From the point of view of the market or we became a large organized group able to cope with the new reality of management or instead of five projects should be divided into smaller units to accommodate the various branches of the families in the small model production and attention to wine tourism.
With the merger one possibility is that in the future the company to open a public capital on the stock exchange
According to Adriano in the middle of these models there is little room for alternative models and the Brazilian market should consolidate into three large national companies and many other small wineries. Despite the reality of our market, Miolo Wines S / A aims to become one of the three largest wine groups in South America Packed in this exercise of thinking big, ADEGA causes wondering if we will soon see the first national wine opening capital Stock Exchange and listen “before 2020 …”
Source: Revista Adega
