march 2012 INSIDE THIS MONTH Volume 40 Issue 3 The No.1 choice for global drinks buyers BRANDS BY VALUE FIND OUT WHICH GLOBAL BRANDS ARE TOP OF THE LEAGUE WINE TOURISM THE WINNERS INDIAN WHISKY THE SUB-CONTINENT IS HEAVING WITH WHISKY DRINKERS Contents Agile Media Ltd, Zurich House, East Park, Crawley, West Sussex RH10 6AS +44(0) 1293 590040 drinksint.com 29 Enmeshed in the web aving been toiling over a feature on Indian whisky, it’s made me realise just how much 18 35 Hinformation is unavailable to us. On an almost daily basis, we remark: “What did we do before the internet?” Go down to the library? Ring someone. Google, Yahoo! and Wikipedia have made our lives 29 Indian whisky News much easier in getting information. 05 Business News The Indian market is huge. Christian Nevertheless, there are gaps and not everything is 07 Travel retail News/IAADFS Davis discerns the runners and the riders necessarily what it seems. I attempted to find out as preview much as possible about the Indian spirits market and 35 Absinthe 11 What’s New Indian whisky in particular. But it has been difficult. Hamish Smith checks out the wormwood India’s big player, United Spirits, did come through Analysis with the goods. But despite requests to the other major 14 St Patrick’s Day 38 From Our Own correspondent players, I had to resort to pulling off information from Find out how the major drinks groups WSET chief executive Ian Harris reports company websites and then slashing and burning to cut are gearing up for one of the biggest on the Kayra Academy in Turkey the hyperbole and get down to the nitty gritty. parties of the year It goes to show there are a lot of brands, some of In the Zone them huge, that are relatively unknown and do not 16 Lightweighting 40 Bar Zone appear to show any interest in being better known Champagne in lightweight bottles. “Is this Bits and bobs from behind the bar beyond their domestic borders. a step too far?” asks James Boulton Last year, I tried to get information from two Chinese 42 Going for Gould brands, Kweichow and Wuliangye, which popped up Features Patience Gould asks why shouldn’t in Brand Finance’s global top 10 brands by valuation. 18 Wine Tourism awards women drink whisky if they want to? Nothing. But maybe I’m taking it for granted that they Meet the winners of the inaugural would want to tell the world how big they are. International Wine Tourism Awards alan Lodge — rIP It may seem strange, but maybe we have to recalibrate It is with great sadness we report the death of every bit as much as companies in other countries and 21 Brands by Value Alan Lodge, news and website editor for The cultures will have to. Perhaps we need to think about This year’s league table of major Drinks Business and deputy editor for The different ways of doing things – starting with reassessing international brands by value, courtesy Spirits Business. He was just 29 and died of a our awareness of regional cultural differences. of Brand Finance brain haemorrhage. Everyone liked Alan. His We may be operating in a global village these days, impish sense of humour, those piercing eyes. but villages can be inward-looking. 26 Vinitaly He will be missed and our thoughts go out to Get prepared for the major wine and his family, friends and colleagues. Christian Davis Editor spirits trade exhibition, in Verona March 2012 DRINKSINT.COM DRINKS INTERNATIONAL 3 foR bREAkIng nEwS vISIT DRInkSInT.CoM News Havana Club posts Industry cheered as disappointing results ernod Ricard’s CEO Pierre Pringuet has growth bounces back Pbranded Havana Club’s flat half-year sales growth as “disappointing”. any of the industry’s drinks groups with revenue growing 3.6% and net profits The brand, which is a joint venture with have released half-year and full year by 9.2% before one-offs. Group beer volume Corporación Cuba Ron, has historically shown Mfinancial results. Healthy volume increased 3.6% with growth in all regions double-digit growth but in the half-year growth was reported by Pernod Ricard, Diageo, “driving global market share gains”. Heineken leading to December 2011 the brand Beam Inc and Heineken, while Treasury Wine said it expects to benefit from continued positive suffered in its key markets of Italy, Spain Estates registered growth in value terms. Here’s growth momentum in higher growth economies and Chile – where disruption was caused by the round-up. and from revenue enhancing initiatives in a change of distributor. Pernod Ricard registered an 11% increase in developed markets. Pringuet, who has “no doubt Havana sales and organic profit of +17% in the half-year Treasury Wine Estates, reported half-year Club will return to double-digit growth” but ending December 31, 2011. Growth was driven profits of AUS$58.6m before one-offs for H1 of would not be drawn on a timeframe, has by emerging markets – now constituting 39% the 2011/2012 fiscal year. The owner of Penfolds, also announced the Spanish market launch of volumes – and the performance of its top Wolf Blass, Lindemans and Rosemount said of Ritual (pictured) by Havana Club. 14 global brands which included Royal Salute overall volume was down 1.1m cases, or 6.2%, He said the new “smoother” expression (+27% in volume), Jameson (+20%), Perrier- mostly due to the UK market. Growth came from would take on leading brands in Spain, Jouët (+18%), The Glenlivet (+14%), Chivas increasing net sales revenue per case by $1.83 such as Brugal, and the “mixable” Regal (+12%) and Martell (+10%). Kahlua or 3.7% through selective price increases and style of rum would “appeal to men (-2%) and Havana Club (0%) were the only top “mix changes”. CEO David Dearie, said: “We and women”. 14 brands to not show growth. are focused on growing volume in the sectors In the same period, Diageo delivered 3% where we see sustainable longer term profits and volume growth and 7% organic net sales we are therefore prepared to walk away from Asian demand drives increase. The movers among its strategic brands unprofitable volume.” were Cîroc (+47% in volume), Bushmills Beam Inc, which owns Jim Beam, Maker’s cognac sales increase (+17%), Ketel One (+11%), Johnnie Walker Mark, Sauza, Canadian Club and Courvoisier, (+8%), Smirnoff (+7%), Captain Morgan (+7%) has reported full-year net sales increases of 8%. nnual sales of cognac have hit e2 billion thanks to a and Tanqueray (+6%). The group’s down-trading Net sales stood at $2.3 billion (excluding excise Asurge in XO and VSOP sales in the Far East, says the brands included Jose Cuevo (-7%), Baileys and taxes) compared to $2.1bn in 2010. Cognac Bureau (BNIC). Royal Crown (both -3%). Emerging markets – Beam president and CEO Matt Shattock said: Total sales volume increased 6.4% in 2011 to more than which accounts for almost 40% of Diageo’s sales “We see Skinnygirl cocktails and the Cooley Irish 18 million 9-litre cases, of which the Far East accounted for – was declared the principal driver. whiskey brands as excellent platforms for long- 35.8%, having grown 14.4% during the period. Heineken’s 2011 profits stood at e1.5 billion, term value creation.” The BNIC has reported that XO was up 15.3% and VSOP rose 7.9% during 2011. China was an important driver of the Far East region’s gruppo Campari planning US bottling facility growth, recording a volume increase of 20.1% over the year to 2.5 million 9-litre cases. Gruppo Campari is to build a $44m bottling plant The Commonwealth of Kentucky has approved The category’s second largest region, NAFTA (the US, at the Wild Turkey distillery in Kentucky, US. the proposal, offering up to $2.35m in incentives. Canada and Mexico) – which makes up 31.2% of volume The site, planned for completion by 2013, will Bob Kunze-Concewitz, CEO of Gruppo – showed an increase of 3.2% with the US remaining the have a 4 million 9-litre cases capacity to provide Campari, said: “This gives us the ownership of the number one market with sales of 5.4 million cases. bottling and packaging for all of Gruppo Campari’s production process for our Wild Turkey brands in Sales in Europe – 28.8% of total volume – were stable, US-distilled spirits brands, including Wild Turkey one location, while also housing the packaging of according to the BNIC. bourbon and Skyy vodka. our largest US-based brand, Skyy vodka.” Wines of Portugal has Scotch whisky producer Patrón Spirits International Austrian wine exports announced an annual Isle of Arran Distillers has introduced XO Café, in 2011 achieved a record News £500,000 investment into has furthered its Icons its 35% blend of silver e126m, an increase of UK marketing activities of Arran series with the tequila and coffee, to China 2.6%. Export volumes to achieve an 8% uplift in global launch of The Eagle. following an agreement stood at 46 million litres, In Brief sales over three years. WOP The single malt is limited with the Shanghai-based a 25% drop, but value ambassadors will aim to to 6,000 bottles and is Telford Wine & Spirits. It increase meant the average engage with the trade and a blend of 1999-distilled will be channelled through price per litre rose from Industry stories from consumers in the UK — a whiskies from ex-bourbon restaurants, bars, clubs, e1.98 in 2010 to e2.71.