Small brand, big world Globalisation is changing even the most time-honoured business models finds Richard Lofthouse when he visits cognac-makers Hine  Globalisation has turned ancient regions such as France's Cognac into a playground for giant market forces. Since the 1970s, consolidation has finished off hundreds of tiny brands leaving four big players accounting for 70% of cognac sales worldwide. The rest is made by a scattering of small producers and growers clinging on in the face of dismal margins. One venerable firm, Thomas Hine, a family label for more than a century and a half, offers a glimpse into the finely tempered art of survival, and why being small can still be attractive. Newly restored by its current owners, Hine's chateau headquarters is in the tiny town of Jarnac, a few kilometres east of the town of Cognac itself. Pronounced Heen by locals, the company appears scarcely changed since Thomas Hine, an Englishman, gave his name to it in 1817. The family is still involved – on the day we visited its chairman, Bernard Hine, joined us for a tasting – but it has not owned the brand for a long time. Challenged by cognac's fall in popularity in the 70s, the Hines sold out to Distillers Co, the UK liquor giant that was subsequently swallowed by Guinness, which was, in turn, poured into Diageo and finally decanted into Moet-Hennessy, now LVMH. Dwarfed by Hennessy – one of the 'Big Four' cognac producers alongside Remy Martin, Courvoisier and Martell – Hine stumbled along until entrepreneur Lawrence Duprey picked it up for €15m in 2003 for his Trinidad-based company CL Financial Ltd. |