{"id":18355,"date":"2022-03-18T11:46:23","date_gmt":"2022-03-18T11:46:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.amvyx.gr\/?p=18355"},"modified":"2022-03-18T11:46:23","modified_gmt":"2022-03-18T11:46:23","slug":"a-playbook-to-thrive-ceo-magazine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.amvyx.gr\/en\/news\/a-playbook-to-thrive-ceo-magazine\/","title":{"rendered":"A Playbook to thrive – CEO Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amvyx is nothing if not resilient. Greece\u2019s oldest and largest spirits and alcoholic beverages importer and distributor started life at the height of World War I with an implausible ambition to bring food and drink from across Europe to the inhabitants of the Aegean port of Thessaloniki.<\/p>\r\n

Albert Revah set up a modest store, but there was nothing modest about his ambitions. Very soon, he\u2019d become the unlikely local partner for international brands like Mo\u00ebt & Chandon and Campari, with queues of people lining up to buy the exotic goods he\u2019d had shipped in.<\/p>\r\n

Despite post-war political chaos and military skirmishes with Turkey leading to economic despair, Albert\u2019s dedication and loyalty to his customers and suppliers meant that his business boomed.<\/p>\r\n

World War II brought unimagined tragedy for Jewish people within Greece and many businesses, including Amvyx, were seized. Albert lost his entire family but refused to give up. He re-established his company in Athens and built it back up to new heights, leaving it to his son when he died in 1967.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a family business that\u2019s survived two world wars, countless crises and turmoil, but it\u2019s still here and has been very successful,\u201d current Managing Director Yannis Artinos tells The CEO Magazine. \u201cIt is extremely financially sound and debt-free \u2013 not words you hear too often among Greek businesses.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\"\"<\/p>\r\n

Today, Amvyx is the largest independent alcohol import and sales company in Greece, with more than 70 exclusive brands and sales north of \u20ac125 million. It\u2019s still family-owned but has been run by Yannis for the past six years, during which time its turnover has doubled.<\/p>\r\n

\r\n


\r\n\u201cGreece had an advantage because we\u2019ve been in crisis for the past 10 years.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\u201cIt has retained the very strong family values that helped it survive for so long,\u201d he says. \u201cOne of those is humility, placing great value in relationships. That\u2019s why so many of our partnerships have existed for a very long time. Amvyx has worked with Mo\u00ebt Hennessy for the past 105 years \u2013 that makes us its second-oldest partner in the world. It has handwritten invoices that go back literally a century.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

During the past two years, it has needed its famous resilience. In 2018, Greece finally emerged from a decade of recession and stagnation, only for COVID-19 to plunge it back into the red as tourist numbers collapsed from a record 34 million in 2019 to just 7.4 million a year later, leading to an 8.2 per cent slump in the economy.<\/p>\r\n

Yannis, however, surprised many with his reaction to such a dire outlook. \u201cYou know everyone else, including the multinationals, was pulling back, reducing headcount, cutting costs, but we decided to invest even more. We went all out, and it was spectacular,\u201d he shares.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cWe hit 23.5 per cent market share, the highest in our 105-year history. I consider 2020 a milestone year. Of course, we lost revenue \u2013 everyone did \u2013 and it was very difficult psychologically, but as far as creating opportunities and accelerating the business, it was a great year. Most importantly, it created a very strong structural base for a roaring rebound.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

In fact, 2021 was an unexpectedly great year for many Greeks as economic forecasts were revised upwards and two-thirds of the gross domestic product lost to the pandemic was recouped. Yannis has a theory as to why his country recovered so well.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThe world was in uncharted territory, no-one had a playbook for it. Greece had an advantage because we\u2019ve been in crisis for the past 10 years, living in a constant state of uncertainty. Will the banks be open? Will we go back to the drachma? So, unlike other countries, we are used to the kind of stress the pandemic brought,\u201d he says.<\/p>\r\n

\r\n


\r\n\u201cYou constantly need to be shopping for ideas.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\u201cAnd it\u2019s easier for us to change our mindset and accept that some things will never go back to the way they were. It\u2019s irreversible.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

COVID-19 caused the way people live to shift \u2013 the way they were getting their entertainment, how they were going out, what they were drinking and where they could travel had all changed.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t make assumptions anymore,\u201d Yannis explains. \u201cAmvyx succeeded because we looked around and saw what was happening, and then listened to as many different opinions as we could find. You constantly need to be shopping for ideas.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

AMVYX AT ATHENS BAR SHOW 2021 on Vimeo<\/a><\/p>\r\n


\r\nValuing Employees<\/p>\r\n

\u201cAll our employees are so important, so we treat them like shareholders,\u201d Yannis says. \u201cEvery year, about 10 per cent of the company\u2019s annual profits are distributed back to the staff, from the entry-level secretary to the janitor and all the way to department heads. In fact, in 2020, when we were in the thick of the pandemic, with no vaccine in sight, we gave 20 per cent. Even in the darkest of hours, we did what was morally and ethically right.\u201d
\r\n\u201cOur journey with Amvyx began in 2016 and since then our partnership has evolved successfully through the work of Yannis and his team. We look forward to continuing this great relationship and together achieving our strategic ambitions.\u201d \u2013 Vassilis Kalantzis, Founder and CEO, Three Cents Artisanal Beverages<\/p>\r\n

Yannis Artinos \u2013 EMEA (theceomagazine.com)<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Amvyx is nothing if not resilient. Greece\u2019s oldest and largest spirits and alcoholic beverages importer and distributor started life at the height of World War I with an implausible ambition to bring food and drink from across Europe to the inhabitants of the Aegean port of Thessaloniki. 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