Foley Wines, the listed New Zealand wine business, has named Mike Higgins as interim CEO.
Higgins joined the wider Foley New Zealand Group in December as CEO of its Foley Hospitality arm to oversee Bill Foley’s hospitality and lodge business in the country.
Foley Wines’ major shareholder is Bill Foley, who is also an investor in the US wine industry.
Last week, the company announced chief executive Mark Turnbull would step down in April.
In a stock-exchange filing today (17 February), Paul Brock, the Foley Wines chair, said: “Mike’s significant commercial experience with growth businesses in New Zealand will add real value to our customers and our people. He will work closely with Mark Turnbull on the transition and will play a key role in leading the continued success of Foley Wines.”
The company manages a collection of wineries and brands from New Zealand’s most “acclaimed” wine regions. Its portfolio includes wine brands Vavasour and Martinborough Vineyard, as well as Lighthouse gin.
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalDataFoley Wines, in last week’s statement announcing Turnbull’s exit, said Turnbull had led the group through “an extremely difficult period” for the New Zealand and global economy and a time of “significant challenges” for the kiwi wine industry domestically and worldwide.
In its fiscal year ended 30 June, Foley Wines generated total revenue of NZ$66.4m ($37.4m), a 0.3% decline on the prior year. Bottled sales revenue grew 0.3% to $62.5m.
At the time, Turnbull said the group was “pleased that case sales were down only 4% on last year, which was a solid turnaround from the first six months”.
Export case sales dropped 5.8% but, “when compared to the industry being down 21% for packaged wine,” Turnbull said the performance “demonstrated the company’s hard work on developing strong routes to market for our brands”.
Foley Wines ended the year with a net loss of NZ$4.1m, versus a profit of NZ$6.8m a year earlier.
Turnbull said the group had faced “a significant over supply of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc” causing “deep discounting” in the year.
However, he remained optimistic about the year ahead, stressing that: “The company is in a good position to sell through the 2024 vintage in a timely manner and hopefully with a normal vintage in 2025 will be in a much improved position for the 2026 financial year.”
