Riga, 30th December, 2013

Largest producer of alcoholic beverages in Baltics, JSC “Latvijas balzams” (Riga, Latvia) has formally appointed Five Eyes AB as the exclusive Duty Free agency to represent its whole portfolio in the Nordic Travel retail & Duty Free channel. Five Eyes AB will represent sales and marketing of the brands portfolio for the coming 2014-2015 annual tenders and the appointment will be under contract for a term of three years effective as of now. Brands include; Riga Black Balsam, Riga Black Balsam Currant, Riga Black Balsam Element, Riga Black Vodka.

Valters Kaze, Commercial Director of JSC “Latvijas balzams”  commented: ‘Nordic Travel Retail market is a significant sales channel for our brands and we are looking forward to enhance the already existing presence and offer through our partnership with Five Eyes AB as one of the most experienced and largest industry player  in Nordic region”.
 
Fredrik Borin, Founder and Managing Partner of Five Eyes AB, commented:
We at Five Eyes are off course very pleased that our strong co-operation with the SPI Group now is extended to the wider portfolio of JSC Latvijas balzams. The Latvijas balzams brands will fill gaps in our portfolio and will ensure that Five Eyes can continue to grow together with its Nordic customers.
 
Notes to Editors:

About JSC “Latvijas Balzams”

JSC “Latvijas balzams” is a leading producer of alcoholic beverages in the Baltics with a history steeped in tradition. Company represents 24% of Baltics alcoholic  beverages market.  Its biggest pride, Riga Black Balsam, is one of the oldest alcohol beverage brands in Europe rooted in 1752. The company has a distillery of strong alcohol beverages and sparkling wines and light alcohol beverages production plant in Riga.

JSC “Latvijas balzams” employs 600 people and is one of the biggest taxpayers in Latvia. JSC “Latvijas balzams” with more than 100 product names is represented in almost all segments of strong and light alcohol beverages, with many market leaders in Latvia. Among the company’s products are such worldwide known brands as Stolichnaya, Moskovskaya, Riga Black Balsam and the most popular local sparkling wine made by original Recipe -  Rigas Sparkling Wine.

JSC “Latvijas balzams” is one of the most significant exporters in Latvia – its products are available in more than 160 countries through SPI Group and in over 30 markets through direct export. The company’s quality management system is certified in accordance with ISO standards and has won hundreds of awards in various interna-tional and domestic competitions and has obtained numerous quality certificates. In May 2013 JSC “Latvijas balzams” was awarded a silver medal in the Sustainability Index , improving its overall performance compared to the previous year.


About Five Eyes
Five Eyes was founded in 2009 and is since October 2012 a fully owned subsidiary of the Solera Beerage Group soly focusing on the travel retail market. Five Eyes provides the full list of services required for successfully bringing your brands to the Nordic and Baltic markets. The core services such as market analysis, sales, marketing planning and brand management are handled in-house by our experienced team, while supplementary services such as production of marketing material, logistics and distribution are sublet to trusted contracting partners. Five Eyes have had a rapid growth since the start and now represent leading spirit brands like Stolichnaya, Old Pulteney, Glenfarclas, Mackmyra and Cognac de Luze.



Additional information:
Dana Hasana
JSC “Latvijas balzams” Communications Manager
Phone: +371 67011711
Mob. phone:+371 26355895
E-mail: dana.hasana@lb.lv
www.lb.lv