Turning around a business and management team
The Challenge
From its heyday in the 70’s as an international liqueur and basis of the classic Rusty Nail Cocktail, Drambuie had sadly declined.
By 2005 the core business had lost 40% of its volume, and the business was in crisis. A succession of unsuccessful diversifications into luxury car dealerships, Caithness Glass, art collecting and prestige office property had led to losses of £1 million pa on turnover of £24 million turnover. The family run business had bank debt of some £8 million.
In 2005 the family trust brought in Phil Parnell, a highly experienced drinks industry executive and former CEO of Dunlop Slazenger to drive a business turnaround.
Radical restructuring of the business was required. The process of stripping back to the core was started - including disposal of the company’s prestige HQ in Edinburgh, complete with chauffeurs, gardeners and art collection. The company’s survival depended on ruthlessly focusing the core Drambuie brand and rebuilding it as quickly and effectively as possible.
Parnell recognised that the brand could only be turned around with a new clear management direction, shared objectives, transparency, teamwork and trust. Drambuie had to become a responsive consumer-focused company that was fun to work in. Phil brought Cognosis on board from the outset to work closely alongside a newly created Drambuie Leadership Team, to help foster a new culture and develop a new strategy.
- Name: Phil Parnell (May 1952 - June 2011)
- Organisation: Drambuie
- Position: Chief Executive Officer
Phil was both a long term Cognosis client through his tenure at Dunlop Slazenger and Drambuie, and also took a keen mentoring interest in our business. His relationship to the founding partners went back to the 1980s at Guinness and United Distillers, inspiring the deepest personal respect, loyalty and commitment from our team. We are very proud of our close involvement in the Drambuie business with Phil, and honoured to have played our part in his story. This case study is dedicated to our fond memories of Phil.
Phil had a wealth of marketing, finance and general management experience over 35 years in industry. He held a number of senior roles in a distinguished 19 year career at Guinness / United Distillers, from Global Marketing Director to President of North America and Managing Director Europe. In 1998 Phil joined Dunlop Slazenger as Chief Executive, overseeing the brand and business turnaround prior to its sale in 2004.
Phil was appointed to the boards of Drambuie Limited and Drambuie Liqueur Company Limited in November 2004. He was made CEO in February 2005, brought in by the family to revive the fortunes of a brand that had been in steady decline for the last three decades. Since joining Drambuie, he returned the company to profitability, and was responsible for the development of the Drambuie brand rejuvenation strategy. January 2011 he took on the role of Executive Chairman.
