Andrew Tan, a true Emperador
Tan’s newly acquired Bodegas Fundador in Spain produces the iconic leading brandy, as well as Emperador, the world’s number one selling brandy.
In the idyllic vineyards of Spain, where the sun shines warmly on one's windblown face and the grapes glow with the sparkle of dew, Filipino industrialist Andrew L. Tan found his universe. Or should we say, his second mega world.
When Tan visited the Andalusian city of Jerez years ago, he left his heart amid the Moorish towers, the Renaissance and Baroque monuments, with the scent of freshly harvested grapes and of fine brandy aged in oakwood casks reminding him to return.
This tycoon with a fine taste for culture and history did return. And when he did, he not only bought a bottle of Spanish brandy. He also purchased the company that produces Fundador Brandy, the largest and oldest brandy in Spain, and icon of Spanish culture
and heritage . It has been the premium liquor brand in the Philippines for 150 years.
The purchase included Bodegas Fundador, Spain's pioneer brandy cellars established in 1730, as well as the vineyards, ageing cellars, production facilities and state-of-theart bottling facilities.
The story of how Tan proudly flew the Philippine flag in Spain — the country that once conquered ours — with his P13.8 billion takeover of the 286-year-old iconic Bodegas Fundador in Spain has been celebrated in business headline stories the past months.
And the story did not begin in Spain. It began in the Philippines when Tan was a young man fresh from college.
“My family was celebrating my college graduation when I saw my father opening a bottle of brandy,” he narrates. “This was the first time I drank a glass of brandy and I learned that this was Fundador. That moment was so memorable to me. “
Tan continues: “In 1983, I visited Jerez for the first time to know more about brandy. That’s why I named my brandy Emperador, inspired by the name Fundador. The brandy business has always been my passion.
“I have dedicated my whole life to brandy making. That is why today, I have achieved my greatest dream. This dream is about having Fundador become part of Emperador. Together, we will make the world’s largest brandy company,” he said in his speech in Spain last March as he welcomed the Fundador family to his Emperador family. But to better appreciate the story of how Andrew Tan conquered Spain and became the leader in the brandy industry, we must go back to his young life fraught with pain and struggles. It is an inspiring story that becomes more poignant with each retelling.
The son of poor immigrants from Fujian, Tan spent his childhood in an apartment in Hong Kong shared by four other families sharing one bathroom and one table.
His remarkable perseverance and work ethic were developed early as a University of the East student who preferred to walk instead of riding a jeep in order to save money. He got his first business insights as an employee of an appliance company and a food condiment manufacturer.
The boy who grew up in a crowded apartment soon built his own condominium complexes.
Fast forward to the present: Andrew Tan steers the Alliance Global Group Inc., the multibillion-peso holding company for his major businesses: Emperador Distillery Inc., the world’s biggest brandy producer which has taken over Bodegas Fundador through his Grupo Emperador Spain; Megaworld, the real estate developer which includes the 50-hectare McKinley Hill; Travellers International Hotels which includes Resorts World, Marriot, Maxim, Remington and the soon-to-rise Sheraton and Hilton hotels; and the McDonald’s Philippine franchise which targets 500 branches this year.
Andrew Tan is perennially in the Forbes list of the Philippines’ top 10 richest.
“We are all proud of my dad’s achievements, especially the Fundador acquisition,” says Kevin Tan, executive director of Alliance Global Inc. and first VP of Megaworld Corporation. “Never in his wildest dreams did he think that he would acquire Fundador which is the peg of all brandy companies around the world.”
That Bodegas Fundador is now in the hands of respected business leader Tan makes Fundador heir Jorge Domecq Bohorquez very happy. “It is a business built by my ancestors. Producing sherry and brandy, and the passion for the brand has always been in the blood of my family,” says Jorge, whose grandfather Jose Manuel Domecq died when he was 10 years old.
“Mr. Tan is a man with vision who knows perfectly the business of beverage. The passion for it has always been in his heart,” says Domecq, who met Tan four years ago when Domecq was already working with Bodegas Fundador. Tan knew that Domecq would be the perfect choice for managing director of his Grupo Emperador Spain, which purchased Bodegas Fundador.
“Andrew Tan’s leadership gives me a bright new hope for this 286-year-old company because he has a respect for heritage and things that last. At the same time, I am really excited about the innovations he will bring in. I have a feeling in my heart that he will boost the brand in the world even more and create new markets,” says Domecq.
“With the combined brandy facilities of Emperador and Fundador, the world’s largest brandy company is born. We now have almost 1,500 hectares of vineyard land in Spain, around one million square meters of cellar and bottling facilities, and four distilleries worldwide,” declares Domecq. Emperador Inc. president Winston Co reveals that “new markets include North America, particularly the United States. Distribution agreements are underway with 10 countries in Central and Eastern Europe.”
“A new era begins for Fundador and the brandy industry in Spain,” says Tan. “It is an era that will bring in new ideas.”
Harold Geronimo, AVP and head of public relations of Megaworld Corporation, cites that “Tan’s innovative approach has been evident in the way Emperador ads espoused the Filipino values of hard work, perseverance and determination that ultimately lead to success.”
To have a feel of Andrew Tan’s brandy empire that now covers Spain, Domecq and Geronimo brought our media group for a taste of the drinks — one bottle at a time, and one city at a time — in Toledo, Sevilla, Jerez and Madrid.
We visited the Daramezas Vineyard in Toledo, which history dates back to the Roman times, but is so high-tech, using what is called precision viticulture utilizing automated irrigation and advanced sensors to constantly monitor the state of the soil, atmosphere and agricultural crops. We wandered through the Jerez Vineyard in Andalusia with its tower bringing us back to the 17th century. We went through rows and rows of oakwood casks at Bodegas Fundador in Jerez which has the sanctity of a church and the scent of a wine cellar. The casks contain brandy that has been aged for more than 50 years to become the best in the world. Many of them bear the autographs of world leaders and icons who have visited the place.
Oh yes, we also traced some paths taken by our national hero Jose Rizal when he lived in Spain from 18821885. Rizal’s favorite meeting places with intellectuals included bars serving tapas with drinks. Did Rizal sip some brandy while in Spain? Perhaps. After all, it is said that “brandy is the liquor of heroes, and extreme cold calls for extreme bravery.” There you have it, liquid courage. English writer Samuel Johnson said: “He who aspires to be a hero must drink brandy.”
Andrew Tan knows so well that brandy is the drink that celebrates heroism and success. And perhaps his father might have told him these oft-repeated words from our elders: “Drink your brandy, it will prevent you from catching cold.”