Penfolds owner Treasury Wines poaches new CEO from Lion
Treasury Wine Estates has poached Sam Fischer, boss of beer and spirits group Lion, to be its new chief executive, replacing company veteran Tim Ford, as the business pivots to focus on its premium Penfolds brand.
Fischer has been at the helm of Lion, owned by Japanese giant Kirin, for the past three years, overseeing beer brands including Tooheys, XXXX Gold, and West End. He has also been a non-executive director with luxury goods and fashion company Burberry Group since 2019.

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News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Aussie drinks giant Treasury Wine Estates hit by US tariff fallout
Aussie drinks giant Treasury Wine Estates has revealed the economic turmoil from Donald Trump's tariffs will wipe up to $10 million off its annual profit. In an update to the ASX on Tuesday, the country's biggest winemaker has downgraded its full-year earnings forecast to approximately $770 million from a forecast of around $780 million at its interim results in February. TWE's key brands include Penfolds, Rosemount and Seppelt. The revised outlook was 'driven by lower-than-expected Premium portfolio shipments in the US, where economic uncertainty and weaker consumer demand has recently impacted wine category performance at price points below $US15'. President Trump's April 2 'Liberation Day' tariffs, which included a blanket 10 per cent levy on all imports, sparked turmoil in global markets. Numerous delays, reversals and court challenges have all added to economic uncertainty, with companies across a range of industries, from Target to UPS, reporting weaker sales or revising their forecasts. TWE stressed at the time of the initial announcement that the blanket levy was not expected to have a 'material impact' on its business. It noted Treasury Americas contributed 36 per cent of group earnings in the first half of the year, but only 15 per cent of its portfolio was from Australian and New Zealand wine, with 85 per cent produced in the US. In its update on Tuesday, TWE said it had been informed that one of its major US distributors, Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC), will cease operations in California effective September 2. RNDC California accounts for around one quarter of TWE's US revenue and 10 per cent of group revenue. The closure is not expected to impact its results in the current financial year. 'TWE has begun evaluating alternative distribution arrangements for its portfolio in California to determine an appropriate path forward,' it said. 'As the leading luxury wine supplier in the US market, TWE is confident that its history working with an extensive network of US distributors, combined with its proven experience in effectively managing distributor changes, which it has done a number of times in the ordinary course through recent years, positions the company strongly to transition to a new route to market in California in the near-term.' RNDC is TWE's distributor spanning 25 US states. 'The closure of RNDC's California operations is not expected to impact the remainder of its business, and RNDC has reiterated its commitment to investing behind and driving TWE's portfolio in the remaining 24 states,' it said. RNDC's decision to shutter its California operations comes after it lost supplier contracts for a number of major clients, including Anheuser-Busch. 'We've made the difficult business decision to withdraw from California which affects many of the roles in the state,' the company said in a statement on Monday. 'We are complying with all regulatory obligations and are committed to handling every transition thoughtfully and smoothly and ensuring everyone is treated fairly and respectfully. We are grateful for the support of these employees and will do our best to support them during this time.' TWE has made significant investments in the US market in recent years, spurred by a push to diversify after China imposed tariffs on Australian-made wine amid diplomatic tensions during the pandemic. In late 2023, it purchased California's DAOU Vineyards for $US900 million ($1.4 billion) in a major bet on continued growth in the US luxury wine segment (more than $US30 per bottle). TWE shares fell sharply after Tuesday's announcement but recovered losses to trade flat at $8.12 by late afternoon. TWE is currently down more than 28 per cent compared with this time last year.

Sydney Morning Herald
4 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Four hot new city restaurants with $15 lunch deals to hit in your break
Winter is upon us, but things are heating up in the CBD, where a clutch of new openings is here to help you resist the urge to hibernate. A Sydney-famous Malaysian chef has made his Melbourne debut. There are three wallet-friendly new lunch options for city workers to get around, and two seafood-centric Japanese diners are on their way. The hottest new restaurant in town Since opening the wildly popular Ho Jiak in Sydney, now with four locations, Malaysian-born chef Junda Khoo has been sharing the food of his homeland and challenging expectations of what the cuisine can be. Now he's brought the party to Melbourne, with a three-storey Malaysian mega-venue. The cherry on top is rooftop beer hall Ho Liao (Level 2, Rainbow Alley), which Khoo says has been doing between 600 and 700 covers a day since it opened late last month. 'It's been absolutely wild.' While the menu might read conventionally, Khoo puts his own spin on things. His signature char kwai teow is 'not traditional, not authentic', with more wok hei than you'd expect. The loh bak (five-spice pork rolls) use fatty pork jowl instead of the more common mince and add prawn mousse to the mix. The rendang curry stars braised wagyu shin for extra flavour.


West Australian
5 hours ago
- West Australian
Last minute data disappointment lowers GDP growth hopes
Forecasters have revised down their predictions for Australia's economic growth, which could show the weakest start to a year in decades, outside of COVID. Partial indicators released in recent days have diminished optimism of the economy's vitality before the Australian Bureau of Statistics releases national accounts figures on Wednesday. The anticipated economic recovery driven by falling interest rates, moderating inflation and recovering disposable income has not materialised as expected. New public demand declined 0.4 per cent over the quarter and will shave 0.1 percentage points off GDP growth in March, the ABS reported on Tuesday. Alongside weaker than expected household spending, business investment and mining exploration, Westpac pared back its prediction for GDP growth to 0.1 per cent - the slowest March quarter result, outside of COVID, since the 1990/91 recession. That would put the annual growth rate at 1.2 per cent. Westpac economists said there was even a small risk for a minor decline in output over the quarter. Negative effects from Tropical Cyclone Alfred and flooding in Queensland as well as a slowdown in public demand highlighted the downside risks to growth. "While some of the weakness reflects the direct and indirect (or 'confidence'-related) impacts of the bad weather events, it is undoubtedly the case that underlying growth remains sluggish," they said. "Without a pickup in private demand, the shaky handover from the public sector could result in a period of below par economic growth." While the figures won't show the worst effects of global uncertainty on consumer demand, given Donald Trump's main tariff announcement wasn't until April 2, trade barriers will continue to weigh on economic growth into the future. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development downgraded its forecast for Australia's GDP growth from 1.9 per cent to 1.8 per cent in 2025. But the outlook is rosier in 2025, with economic growth expected to accelerate to 2.2 per cent as interest rates continue to fall and disposable incomes recover. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the national accounts would show an Australian economy resilient in the face of substantial headwinds at home and abroad. "Our economy has been hit by natural disasters and we're not immune to global volatility, but the progress Australians have made together means we are well placed and well prepared to face this uncertainty," he said. CBA economists also downgraded their Mach quarter GDP forecasts following Tuesday's data dump but still expect growth of 0.3 per cent, while ANZ and NAB revised down their predictions to a 0.2 per cent rise. JP Morgan left its growth prediction unchanged at 0.3 per cent while Japanese investment bank Nomura lowered its estimate to 0.1 per cent. It's unlikely GDP growth will meet the Reserve Bank's forecast of 0.5 per cent, published just over two weeks ago in its May Statement on Monetary Policy. Rates markets imply a 78 per cent chance for the RBA to cut interest rates by another 25 basis points at its next meeting in July, with two more cuts expected by Christmas.