needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . march 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message v & s group type subsidiary of pernod ricard founded 1917 headquarters stockholm sweden area served worldwide key people anders narvinger chairman bengt baron president & ceo products absolut alcoholic beverages revenue 10.3 b sek 2007 operating income 2.3 b sek 2007 net income 1.47 b sek 2007 number of employees 2 500 website vsgroup.com v & s group v & s vin & sprit ab founded in 1917 is an international producer and distributor of alcoholic beverages . the group is currently owned by pernod ricard . headquartered in stockholm the capital of sweden the group employs approximately 2 500 people . until 1994 the group had the position of a national monopoly for production and distribution but this was abolished when sweden joined the european union in 1995 . however the swedish alcohol retailing monopoly operated by systembolaget is still in force . on march 31 2008 it was announced that the swedish government intended to sell v & s group to pernod ricard for 5.626 billion euro corresponding to 55 billion swedish kronor . 1 the deal was approved and finalized on july 24 2008 at an estimated value of 5.69 billion euro . 2 the acronym v & s comes from the name vin & sprit literally meaning wine & liquor . contents 1 organization and brands 2 production and distribution 3 sales 4 see also 5 notes 6 external links organization and brands edit v & s group is divided into three main areas v & s absolut spirits handles absolut vodka and the other international spirits brands such as level vodka fr s vodka . v & s distillers handles spirits on the northern and central european markets . v & s wine handles wines and fortified wines in the nordic region . production and distribution edit the production of the group s international spirits takes place in sweden denmark great britain and st. croix u.s. virgin islands . production of their local and regional spirits takes place primarily in sweden denmark finland germany and poland . in northern europe v & s group is the largest importer and distributor of wine . the group offers their own brands of wine and also produces brands by well known international companies . distribution in the nordic area is primarily handled through the group s distribution centers in sweden denmark and finland . v & s group is represented by the subsidiary v & s norway in norway by v & s eesti in estonia and by the company v & s luksusowa zielona g ra in poland . in the united states distribution was handled by future brands llc a joint venture with fortune brands . in most other regions of the world distribution was handled by maxxium which was also partly owned by the group . sales edit about three quarters of the group s sales come from spirits whereas the remaining quarter comes from wine . vodka is their largest selling spirit in which absolut holds the highest sales figures . geographically north america is the group s single biggest market accounting for 43 % of total sales in 2007 . the swedish market accounts for one sixth approximately 15 % of sales . as volume is concerned the group sold 158.4 million liters of spirits and 83.7 million liters of wine totaling 242.1 million liters of product . see also edit list of government enterprises of sweden notes edit pernod wins auction for vin & sprit . the local . 2008 03 31 . retrieved 2008 03 31 . v & s group press release . cision wire . retrieved 2008 07 24 . external links edit v & s group in english v & s group in swedish v t e pernod ricard acquisitions aberlour 1974 dubonnet 1976 irish distillers 1988 orlando wines 1989 wyndham estate 1990 seagram 2000 allied domecq 2005 vin & sprit 2008 lillet 2008 plymouth gin distillery 2008 subsidiaries aberlour corby distilleries1 orlando wines pernod ricard nz premium wine brands scapa v & s group spirits brands vodka absolut explorer fr s level luksusowa polar ice2 renat wyborowa ubr wka3 huzzar orloff whisky blended scotch ballantine s clan campbell chivas royal salute 100 pipers imperial long john passport something special single malt scotch aberlour the glenlivet longmorn scapa strathisla tormore irish whiskey crested ten green spot jameson midleton very rare paddy whiskey powers redbreast bourbon four roses3 canadian whisky wiser s2 indian whiskey blenders pride royal stag imperial blue other doble v dunbar natu nobilis gin beefeater cork dry gin plymouth gin seagram s gin liqueurs hiram walker kahl a lemond malibu cusenier dita lochan ora ruavieja soho tequila & cacha a olmeca janeiro sao francisco viuda de romero anis ouzo mini pastis 51 pernod ricard pastis pacific cognac & brandy ararat macieira martell a ejo los reyes azteco de oro brandy domecq don pedro presidente rum havana club lamb s navy rum bitters becherovka gammeldansk suze amaro ramazzotti fernet capri wine brands wine jacob s creek montana wines west coast cooler wyndham estate brancott estate campo viejo domecq graffigna kenwood long mountain old tbilisi ap ritifs & fortifieds becherovka byrrh dubonnet lillet ambassadeur bartissol champagne g. h. mumm perrier jou t people paul ricard patrick ricard jean h mard ariste h mard henri louis pernod jules fran ois pernod jules f lix pernod 1 as of 2008 the company is 46 % owned by pernod ricard . 2 via corby . 3 distributed brand . category liquor portal retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title v % 26s group & oldid 722988393 categories companies of swedengovernment owned companies of swedenpernod ricard brandshidden categories articles needing additional references from march 2013all articles needing additional references navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main 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