MATTHEW MATTHEW SIMSSIMSGruppo Campari Biography

London, UKAugust 2011 – Dec 2013

TIMELINETIMELINE August 2011 – Employed as the first ‘Italian Spirit Specialist’ in

U.K.

August-October 2011 – Received extensive training of the Campari brands both in U.K and at the Head Office in Milan.

November/December 2011 – Building up appropriate London client base to expand Campari brands and introduce Aperol.

January-May 2012 – Spreading the idea of Campari products and the Aperitivo. Focus areas were influential areas such as Shoreditch, Hackney and London Fields.

May 2012 – My client ‘Ombra’ becomes the first ‘Gold Account’ in London. Average three cases per week of Aperol, Campari and Cynar.

June 2012 – Gruppo Campari changes distribution company from Cellar Trends to new company Catalyst Brands.

July 2012 – I represent Gruppo Campari at ‘Imbibe Live’, the U.K’s largest drinks exhibition.

July 2012 – I successfully spend time introducing Aperol to the Irish market.

August 2012 – I successfully reach my years target.

TIMELINETIMELINE August 2012 – I oversee the experiential ‘Aperol Social Garden’ at

‘Edinburgh Fringe Festival’. Three hundred cases sold in 3 weeks alongside 12 listings in surrounding bars This opens the door to Scotland for the brand and also works as a template for all 2013 activity.

September/October 2012 – The second Italian Spirits Specialist is relocated to Edinburgh following the success of the Aperol Social. I take over the whole of London.

November/December 2012 – New targets are issued to us alongside a budget to work with.

January/February 2013 – I spread the idea of Aperitivo in the on-trade with Campari’s products for the upcoming summer period with huge success.

March/April 2013 – I work closely with Catalyst Brands new employees assisting them in their training and transition.

May/June 2013 – I create and deliver a training package to the entire Taylor Walker pub group. This secures menu listings across 120 sites

July/November 2013 – Training, representing at trade shows and events, doing talks as well as securing listings and overseeing experiential events.

December 2013 – I exceed my target for 2013 by 7 Gold accounts and 31 silver accounts.

KEY SKILLSKEY SKILLS Training – During my time with Campari I organized and conducted

hundreds of training sessions. Due to my education background this was one of my strong points and not only educated the staff but helped to gain menu listings.

Networking/Relationship building – The success of Aperol and Campari in London came down to the connections I made and the relationships I formed

Time Management – I had very high targets to hit as well as a lot of extra responsibilities outside of these targets. Skilled time management allowed me to achieve this and still balance with my private time.

Commercial Awareness – A huge part of my success within this role was understanding where to place the products in the on-trade.

Communication – Due to the business model of working through a distribution company, open communication with my colleagues and to Head Office were essential to move the brands forward.

Negotiation/Persuasion – With London being so competitive in the drinks sector and a fairly small budget, I needed excellent negotiation skills to achieve my targets

Perseverance/Motivation – I was a key component in building Aperol up from a little known brand to a popular product in London. I spent a lot of time being knocked back only to get back up and keep trying. I took ownership of the brand, persevered and finally received the results.

SALESSALES• 2012 Aperol sales – 120%

2013 Aperol sales to date

GOLD GOLD ACCOUNTSACCOUNTS

Grain StoreKings Cross, London

This site was a new opening in newly developed Kings Cross. I commissioned to have this fully functional bespoke Campari piano to sit in a high visibility area of the site. Twice a week a pianist entertains the crowds who enjoy Campari cocktails and aperitivo. Campari is the only advertised brand in the site.

GOLD GOLD ACCOUNTSACCOUNTS

Oval SpaceHackney, London

(Bespoke Aperol Branded Furniture)

Oval Space is an music focused event space with a large outdoor bar and restaurant. Due to it’s ‘hidden’ location it was hugely popular with the trendy East London crowd. Aperol and Campari were the key serves throughout 2013

GOLD GOLD ACCOUNTSACCOUNTS

Drake and Morgan GroupLondon

Drake and Morgan’s eight locations are all heavily involved with Campari products. This included key serves, strong menu positions and events

GOLD GOLD ACCOUNTSACCOUNTS

69 Colebrooke RowIslington, London

69 Colebrooke Row is a world renowned cocktail bar in East London. Through an on-going relationship with owner Tony Conigliaro, I secured this bespoke advertising space behind the bar as well as two Campari cocktails on their limited menu. Campari and Aperol are speed rail items and are used in all events run throughout the year.

GROUP GROUP SUCCESSSUCCESS

Taylor Walker GroupU.K Wide

I wrote and co-ordinated a training and experiential event that was presented over three days to the heads of 120 pub sites within the Taylor Walker group. This successfully secured listings across the board

EVENT EVENT MANAGEMENTMANAGEMENT

Photon EventShoreditch, London

In trying to bring Campari to the younger trendy crowd, I collaborated with ‘Photon Group’ to create an event that mixed audio and visual medias with Campari.