Diageo Signs New Distribution Agreements and New Brokerage Agreement with The Charmer Sunbelt Group

Agreements Apply to Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Maryland, New York, South Carolina, and the District of Columbia

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Jan 10, 2013, 09:01 ET

NORWALK, Conn. and NEW YORK, Jan. 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Diageo, the world's leading spirits, wine and beer company, and The Charmer Sunbelt Group today announced that they have entered into new agreements for Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Maryland, New York, South Carolina, and the District of Columbia.

Under these agreements, The Charmer Sunbelt Group will continue as the exclusive distributor for the Diageo portfolio of wines and spirits in these states. The Charmer Sunbelt Group will also continue as the exclusive broker for Diageo wines and spirits in Montgomery County, Maryland.

"We are pleased to renew our relationship with Charmer in these markets. Diageo will continue to evolve our route to market strategy based on having the best leadership, capabilities and most importantly performance. We look forward to working with them to achieve future success," said Jeff Ivey, Senior Vice President, Commercial Strategy, Diageo North America.

Greg Baird, COO of The Charmer Sunbelt Group remarked: "We are very proud to continue our successful and longstanding relationship with Diageo North America. Their commitment to brand investment in partnership with our commitment to market, organization, and people investment will sustain superior performance. It is a privilege to represent their portfolio."

Diageo began the second phase of its transformational route to market strategy for its spirits and wine brands in the U.S. in 2010 and this represents the continuation of that strategy.

About The Charmer Sunbelt Group

The Charmer Sunbelt Group (CSG) is one of the nation's leading distributors of fine wines and spirits. A group of privately held companies, CSG operates local distributor and/or brokerage houses in 13 markets: Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, New York (Metro and Upstate), Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Together, these companies employ more than 7,000 associates who bring to market some of the most valuable and well-known consumer brands in the world. CSG is a family-owned business that proudly serves as the critical link between wine and spirit suppliers, and the retail outlets where alcoholic beverage brands are legally and responsibly sold and enjoyed. For more information about CSG, please visit www.charmer-sunbelt.com.

About Diageo

Diageo (Dee-AH-Gee-O) is the world's leading premium drinks business with an outstanding collection of beverage alcohol brands across spirits, beer and wine. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, JεB, Windsor, Buchanan's and Bushmills whiskies, Smirnoff, Ciroc and Ketel One vodkas, Baileys, Captain Morgan, Jose Cuervo, Tanqueray, Guinness, Beaulieu Vineyard and Sterling Vineyards Wines.

Diageo is a global company, with its products sold in more than 180 countries around the world. The company is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (DEO) and the London Stock Exchange (DGE). For more information about Diageo, its people, brands, and performance, visit us at Diageo.com. For our global resource that promotes responsible drinking through the sharing of best practice tools, information and initiatives, visit DRINKiQ.com.

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SOURCE Diageo