Campari acquires 49% stake in e-commerce site Tannico

Italian drinks group Campari is to acquire a 49% stake in online wine and spirit retailer Tannico for €23.4 million.

Marco Magnocavallo, CEO and co-founder of Tannico

Italian retailer Tannico, which boasts a 30% share of the domestic market, notched up seven million unique visitors last year. The site sells around 14,000 wines from over 2,500 domestic and international wineries, and also stocks a range of premium spirits.

The deal will see the Campari Group acquire 39% of Tannico with an agreement for it to increase its shareholding to 49%. The purchase is expected to complete in July 2020.

From 2025, Campari will have the option to fully acquire Tannico, an agreement that is based on “certain conditions”.

Tannico, which achieved net sales of €20.6 million last year and is now present in over 20 markets, has also expanded into B2B, offering services including warehouse management and tailored delivery solutions. The company also has a presence in offline retail, offers wine education courses, and is planning to open its first wine bar in Milan.

It was founded in 2012 and was unveiled in the UK in 2016. 

Bob Kunze-Concewitz, chief executive officer of Campari Group, commented: “Being an essential part of our digital transformation journey, e-commerce is a strategically relevant channel for our business. In this respect, Tannico, the leading e-commerce platform for wines and premium spirits in Italy, represents a unique and strategic fit with our long-term business development goals.

“By leveraging Tannico’s expertise, we will accelerate our development plans in e-commerce, an already growing channel, but set to become even more strategic following the likely long-lasting changing consumer behaviours due to the Covid-19 emergency, largely enhancing our digital capabilities. Moreover, with our support, Tannico will be able to strongly accelerate its international development and the B2B services, further boosting its already extremely remarkable growth.”

Campari, which has a portfolio of over 50 brands, is the sixth largest spirits producer in the world. The company is present in 190 markets and owns 21 production plants around the world.

Marco Magnocavallo, CEO and co-founder of Tannico, added: “In this moment, as consumers largely evolve in their purchasing behaviors getting increasingly closer to the online world, it is essential for Tannico to have the necessary resources to accelerate its development, without sacrificing the curation that characterises us.

“With the Campari Group, we have found an ideal partner who can support us in consolidating our leadership in the Italian market as well as significantly expanding our business abroad and in the B2B channel.”