Brown-Forman Co. is a company engaged in producing a variety of popular alcoholic beverages. One of the company’s flagship brands is the internationally popular Jack Daniel’s® whiskey.

History
Brown-Forman was founded by George G. Brown in 1870. Brown, who was then a pharmaceuticals salesman, came up with the idea of marketing top-grade whiskey packed in glass bottles.

In 2005, the production of Jack Daniel’s® was at its highest, producing over 8.2 million cases. In 2006, Brown-Forman was able to acquire Chambord, the popular French liquor.

The company divested itself of its Lenox subsidiary in order to focus its efforts on producing wines and spirits. The income earned from the divestiture of Lenox was distributed to the company’s shareholders as a special dividend. Brown-Forman also divested itself of Hartmann Luggage. In January of 2007, Brown-Forman was able to acquire the Mexican tequila company Casa Herradura Tequila.

The company also agreed to a bank loan of $800 million from Bank of America. This money was speculated to be used for the company’s acquisition of Casa Herradura. In 2009, Brown-Forman was included in Newsweek Magazine’s list of 500 largest companies making an effect on the environment. Out of 500 companies, Brown-Forman ranked 63rd while it ranked 3rd in the alcoholic beverage industry.

In 2010, Brown-Forman introduced an addition to its Southern Comfort® product line: South Comfort® Lime. This was the company’s convenient version of the popular mixed bar drink. It also made some changes on the brand’s packaging by combining the three labels with the neck wrap in order to show the shared equities between the brand and the city of Louisville, Kentucky.

Since its founding, the company has grown into a multi-billion dollar business. Currently, over 70% of the company’s shares are controlled by the Brown Family. Today, as a publicly listed company, Brown-Forman has two kinds of shared stocks. Both of these stocks are listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Class A stockowners are those that have voting privileges, while Class B Stockowners do not have voting privileges.

Stats
• Headquarters: Louisville, Kentucky
• Ownership Type: Public
• No. of Employees: 3,700 (April 2011)
• Geography: worldwide
• Demography: Alcoholic beverage consumers

Brands
Jack Daniel’s ®, Finlandia Vodka®, Canadian Mist®, Old Forester®, Korbel Champagne®, Southern Comfort® and Fetzer Wine®, Bonterra ®, Bel Arbor®, Five River®, Sonoma-Cutrer ®, Sanctuary wines®, Herradra®, Don Eduardo®, El Jimador®

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