Brown-Forman Opens Its CEO Search

Brown-Forman CEO Lawson Whiting to retire. The Jack Daniel's owner says its CEO will step down once a successor is named, putting a leadership transition in front of an American whiskey house working through soft US spirits demand. (The Spirits Business, Just Drinks, Just-Drinks) IWSR research finds Gen Z drinks at population rate. New IWSR consumer data indicates Gen Z drinks at close to the same rate as the wider adult population, cutting against a generational-abstinence assumption embedded in many brand plans. (The Drinks Business, The Spirits Business, Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News) June CPI: beer prices up 3.1% on- and off-premise. BLS data shows beer pricing tracking close to headline inflation while the rest of beverage-alcohol lags it, a split that reads through to pricing and margin planning. (Brewbound) NIQ scans show small July 4 lift, sales still negative. Off-premise beverage-alcohol sales stayed in the red through the Fourth of July despite the US 250th-anniversary holiday, according to NIQ's latest weekly read. (Brewbound) Also moving today: Mich Ultra, High Noon & Mexican Imports Are Winning the World Cup in the On-Premise, per BeerBoard (Brewbound) M&A Activity For Scaled RTD Brands Expected to Ramp Up (BevNET) Trade groups challenge Oregon’s EPR over glass fees (The Spirits Business) La Martiniquaise-Bardinet buys non-alc brand Sir James 101 outright (Just Drinks, The Spirits Business, Drinks International)