Crystal decanters of amber spirit on dark polished wood, lit from one side, with a warm display cabinet far out of focus behind.
AguilarW LLC · global strategy for premium brands

Most consultants can tell you which markets to enter. Walter has already opened them.

A consultancy specialising in the strategy and international expansion of premium and luxury brands, with local presence across Europe, the United States, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Panama and Colombia.

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The record

Markets entered, not markets researched

Every consultancy in this category shows a world map. This is the list underneath one. These are markets AguilarW have opened or managed brand, importer and distributor relationships in, as published on the current site.

12markets in Europe

  • France
  • Spain
  • United Kingdom
  • Germany
  • Italy
  • Nordic countries
  • Greece
  • Poland
  • Czech Republic
  • Baltic countries
  • Netherlands
  • Latvia

Senior and junior consultants based across three countries, travelling the region.

67+Countries with managed brand, importer or distributor relationships
118+Retail stores opened across Latin America
12+Countries where new subsidiaries were opened and run
$500M+In brand value created, as stated on the current site
An empty luxury airport travel-retail spirits hall at night, backlit display shelving glowing amber along a polished aisle.
The category

He did not enter the super premium rum category. He created it.

AguilarW describe Walter as the mastermind behind Ron Zacapa Centenario in worldwide travel retail, the work that led to a Diageo partnership and established super premium rum as a category. Their own site notes it is now studied as an industry case.

That is a different claim from having advised in a category. It is the reason a premium brand hires him rather than a strategy firm: the playbook was written first-hand, in travel retail, under commercial pressure.

  • Diageo partnershipWhere the Zacapa travel retail work led.
  • $2.24MImprovement on the previous year after a twelve-month commercial and financial turnaround of a rum company, against 2017.
  • 16+ marketsOpened through the Covid period, including Australia, Poland, the UK, the Netherlands, Latvia, Greece, Spain, Qatar and Singapore.
  • US and EuropeComplete business model turnaround, including supply chain and route to market.

A distributor agreement is easy to sign and expensive to be wrong about. That is the whole job.

Method

The path to global success

A structured approach, in the order it actually runs.

01

Brand and market intelligence

The brand, the competition, the consumer, the markets and the openings, including pricing optimisation.

02

Brand strategy and storytelling

Global positioning, brand architecture, the narrative, and the commercial pitch that carries it.

03

Market entry and distributor development

Which countries and channels come first, and which importers, distributors and routes to market are worth having.

04

Strategic market management

Direct commercial management, negotiating the deals, running the education, and representing the brand where it counts.

Brands with sustainable growth, distributors worth keeping, real global presence, and one coherent story in every market.

Where the experience comes from

Two decades across the categories that invented luxury retail

Brands Walter has negotiated and held relationships with, as listed on the current AguilarW site.

Spirits and wine

Diageo · Pernod Ricard · LVMH · Beam Suntory · Campari Group · Bacardi · Patrón · Jose Cuervo · Heineken · Marie Brizard · Ron Diplomático · Ron Centenario · Flor de Caña · Appleton · Ron Abuelo · Rum Nation

Perfume and cosmetics

Chanel · Christian Dior · Gucci · LVMH · La Prairie · Estée Lauder · Hermès · Cartier · Hugo Boss · Dolce & Gabbana

Who you would be working with

Walter Aguilar

Two decades in the distribution of luxury brands across international markets, with senior commercial roles alongside several of Latin America's principal distributors.

Industry figures quoted on the current site describe him consistently as someone who builds distribution networks that hold, and who makes things happen rather than reporting on them. Their words, summarised here rather than reproduced.

Education
  • 2022Master in e-Commerce and Digital Marketing
  • 2019–20MBA, EUDE Business School
  • 2011–12University of Notre Dame: conflict management, advanced negotiation
  • 1998INCAE Business School: marketing
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The first conversation is about the market, not the deck

Where the brand sits today, which markets are genuinely open to it, and what a realistic route in looks like. An initial audit of the current operation, the industry and the competition comes before any plan.

Email Walter
  • Emailwalter@aguilarw.com
  • CategoriesSpirits · perfume and cosmetics · accessories
  • Local presenceEurope, United States, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Panama, Colombia
  • Also inEspañol