BROWN-FORMAN CORPORATION
LOUISVILLE, KY

Our vision is to build forever starting with our ten-year strategy, B-F 150, which directs our efforts toward 2020, the year of our company’s 150th anniversary. Over many years, Brown-Forman has developed and nurtured a set of core values that has become deeply ingrained in our consciousness and our culture. These time-honored values — integrity, respect, trust, teamwork, and excellence — remain real and relevant today, guiding us in the conduct of our day-to-day business. Founding of the Company With $5,500 in saved and borrowed money, George Garvin Brown, a young pharmaceuticals salesman in Louisville, Kentucky, starts J.T.S. Brown and Bro. with his half-brother. They sell The firm’s name is changed to Brown-Forman and Company to reflect the partnership. Business, despite the growing prohibitionist movement in America, booms. George Forman dies, and Brown purchases his stock in the company. Brown-Forman is incorporated shortly afterward. Owsley Brown, George Garvin Brown’s son, makes a pivotal decision to come into the business, beginning a tradition of family apprenticeship that continues to this day. and moving it to the company’s government-designated warehouse in Louisville. October also sees Brown-Forman’s first public stock issue, which provides a capital base that allows the company to re-enter the American market with strength after the Depression and The company also purchases the Labrot & Graham Distillery, originally founded in 1812 by bourbon-making pioneer Elijah Pepper. As of June 1, 1957 Brown-Forman acquired the exclusive franchise to produce and sell Bols liqueurs. The company records net sales of more than $100 million for the first time. Street becomes the first non-Brown family member to become president. Old Bushmills Irish Whiskey and Pepe Lopez Tequila become the two newest additions to Brown-Forman’s product line. The company moves its corporate headquarters to 850 Dixie Highway, Louisville, Kentucky. The import firm of Fontana-Hollywood becomes part of Brown-Forman; one of the few non food items that Fontana-Hollywood imported was Bolla Italian wines. Brown-Forman celebrates its centennial, called the Double Golden. The company also publishes its corporate history, Nothing Better in the Market. The company acquires Canadian Mist, located in Collingwood, Ontario, and the import rights to Noilly Prat, the world-famous French vermouths. Brown-Forman sells its interest in the Labrot & Graham Distillery. The company eventually repurchases the distillery and begins an ambitious renovation to restore it to the original small-batch distilling process. The company acquires Southern Comfort, “The Grand Old Drink of the South.” Lenox, Incorporated becomes part of the Brown-Forman family of companies, bringing with it Lenox china, crystal and giftware, and the 125-year-old Hartmann Luggage Company. Brown-Forman Beverage Company acquires the trademark and U.S. distribution rights for Fontana Candida Italian Wines, the world’s leading supplier of Frascati wines. Brown-Forman Beverage Company launches Gentleman Jack Rare Tennessee Whiskey, the first new whiskey out of the Jack Daniel Distillery in more than 100 years. Lenox, Incorporated acquires the Baltimore-based Kirk Stieff Company, the oldest manufacturer of silver and pewter products in the United States. Brown-Forman Beverage Company creates a Wine Division to re-emphasize the company’s commitment to building its premium wine business. That commitment is underscored with the Finally, Dansk International Designs and its subsidiary, Gorham, are key acquisitions in the consumer durables segment of Brown-Forman’s business. The company also introduces the hugely successful Jack Daniel’s Country Cocktails. Carmen Vineyards Chilean Wines becomes part of the Beverage Company’s portfolio in April. Brown-Forman increases its regular quarterly cash dividend by 4% in fiscal 1994, marking the 49th consecutive year in which the company paid regular dividends. Also, the company’s board The company also reorganizes the Brown-Forman Beverage Company into Brown-Forman Beverages Worldwide (BFBW), designed to expand beverage business throughout the world. Brown-Forman Corporation reaches an agreement with Jagatjit Industries, Limited, of India. Jagatjit Brown-Forman India Private, Ltd., headquartered in New Delhi, supplies the company’s beverage products to the Indian market and pursues opportunities to export beverages and consumer durables from India. Brown-Forman establishes the Brown-Forman Wines International Company to expand the company’s wine business in global markets introduces Woodford Reserve Bourbon, the first new product from Labrot & Graham. The Brown family and Brown-Forman Corporation are presented with a National Preservation Honor Award from The National Trust for Historic Preservation. The company and family are Brown-Forman Corporation donates $1 million to the University of Louisville to finance a chair in entrepreneurship at the College of Business and Public Administration. Leadership changes at Lenox, Inc. with the formation of a board of directors, appointment of its chairman, and selection of a new company president. Barry D. Bramley becomes chairman of the The company adds four new wine brands to its portfolio, Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards and Mariah Wines of California, and two Australian brands, McPherson Wines and Owen’s Estate Wines. products introduced are Don Eduardo ultra premium tequilas. Brown-Forman also purchases an interest in Tuoni & Canepa Spa of Italy and becomes exclusive marketing agent for that company’s Tuaca Liqueur in the U.S. and other markets. Brown-Forman reports record earnings and 10% earnings per share growth for the Fiscal 1999. The company also increased its quarterly cash dividend 5.1%, from 29.5 cents to 31 cents For the first time in company history sales exceed $2 billion. Owsley Brown Frazier, great-grandson of George Garvin Brown, retires after 45 years of service to the company.