KWV CEO resigns

Thys Loubser, chief executive of South African wine and spirits giant KWV, has resigned with immediate effect.

In a move that stamps majority owner Hosken Consolidated Investments’ (HCI) authority on the company, Loubser will be replaced in an acting capacity by senior HCI executive André van der Veen, while a long-term replacement is sought.

Loubser (left), who has headed KWV since 2007, has not commented on his departure, which comes just five months after HCI became KWV’s largest shareholder with a 31.8% stake in the company.

KWV’s board said that at this stage of the company’s internal restructuring it was opportune to effect a change in the leadership, but declined to comment further.

“We have made some changes at the company, but I don’t see the merit in discussing our strategy through the media,” said KWV chairman Marcel Golding.

Former chairman Danie de Wet was surprised by the move. “I heard rumbles last Thursday. Thys and I were together at Vinexpo less than a month ago. He was upbeat about prospects and was exploring a number of new export leads for the company.”

A KWV insider added that things at the company are changing fast. “HCI are in a hurry,” they said.

Loubser’s departure comes at a difficult time for the company, which has lost many of its UK listings after enforcing price rises.

Global sales fell from 2.5 million cases to 500,000 cases in the last six months of 2010.

Group profits slumped 80% to ZAR5.8m, while the core wine and spirits business made a loss of ZAR7.2m.

KWV, which owns brands including Roodeberg, Cathedral Cellar and Wild Africa Cream, has been trying to develop sales in emerging markets such as Asia, while building its business in the domestic South African market.

Sources in Paarl report that two more members of the KWV central committee are expected to announce their imminent departure.