Diageo celebrated 10 years as the world's leading premium drinks business

Formed 10 years ago, Diageo celebrated its tenth anniversary on December 17. Created by the merger of Grand Metropolitan and Guinness, the business originally included beverage alcohol and food offerings. The appointment of Paul Walsh as CEO in 2000, however, brought a strategic decision to focus solely on beverage alcohol, divesting the food business.

In 2001, the acquisition of the Seagram spirits and wine business brought additional brands into the collection and today Diageo manages eight of the world's top 20 premium spirits brands and operates in some 180 markets across spirits, beer and wine. Two of those brands, Smirnoff and Johnnie Walker, are the best and third best-selling brands in the world, respectively.

During the past decade, the company has made achievements in global advertising, created innovative new drinks and extended favourite brands to new occasions and developed unique digital marketing initiatives. Diageo has also continued to look at strategic acquisitions where appropriate, with additions such as Bushmills and The Chalone Wine Group.

Paul Walsh commented, 'Today we stand in a different place from where we started a decade ago. We are focused on premium drinks and operate with serious offerings across total beverage alcohol: spirits, beer and wine. We have seen growth in our business over the past decade in well-established consumer markets like the United States and have begun building for a strong future in emerging markets like China and India. We believe the next decade and the others to follow will continue to be exciting times for Diageo.'

Always with a focus on customer relationships, Diageo set about in 2004 to further strengthen them in the United States with a new approach for the industry using a dedicated sales force for Diageo brands. The business has been named supplier of choice in several markets around the world.