Unless Bacardi is in real deep doodoo, this looks like penny pinching that will cost them far more in bad publicity than it saves. If they were listed on the Stock Exchange I’d be phoning my broker to sell and short.
Rumpundit
Bacardi rum giant cancels fair amid economic woes
BusinessWeek/AP
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico
Rum giant Bacardi Ltd. is canceling a popular annual artisans’ fair at its Puerto Rico distillery due to the global recession.
The Bacardi Artisans’ Fair had been held each December at the company’s plant in Catano, across the bay from San Juan — and had grown to become the largest festival of its type in the Caribbean over the past 33 years. It cost roughly $500,000.
Joaquin Bacardi, head of the Bermuda-based rum empire, told the newspaper El Nuevo Dia that the decision was made after evaluating the company’s “great challenges” due to the ongoing economic slowdown.
Bacardi is a family-owned spirits conglomerate founded in Santiago, Cuba, in 1862. All of its rums are made in Puerto Rico.