In very high spirits
The multinationals’ movers and shakers have all shown increases with the likes of Diageo’s Smirnoff, and Johnnie Walker well ahead, but in terms of consistency Pernod Ricard has the edge. Patience Gould crunches the Brand Champions’ numbers
THERE’S A goodly mix of spirits when it comes to the world’s top 10 brand champions, both regional and international: there’s a soju, two vodkas, a cachaça, two rums, a Scotch whisky, two Indian whiskies and an American whiskey. In short five regional brands and five global; with its 67.21 million-case tally Jinro Soju is by far and a way the number one – almost three times the size of Diageo’s Smirnoff, which is not only the world’s top vodka but the number one international brand.
In Johnnie Walker Diageo also boasts the global leading whisky (and Scotch), but the Indian whiskies Bagpiper and McDowell’s No 1 Reserve posting 7.1% and 32.5% increases respectively are not far behind and with the demographics population-wise in India it is safe to assume that they will dominate the action within the next five years – this in itself would be quite an extraordinary feat in that exports are still negligible.
Furthermore, evidence that India is a serious stronghold with huge potential when it comes to spirits is highlighted by the fact that out of the 21 Indian spirit brands in the Brand Champions only two, Shiva Distilleries Monitor brandy and Radico Kaiton’s 8PM whiskey suffered declines. United Spirits is clearly the dominant force fielding four brands in the top 20 – and a mighty 13 overall in the league. In addition its Old Tavern rules the regional dominant brand chart – posting a 31%-plus increase over the last five years, and for the fifth consecutive year a growth of 29% – while its McDowell’s No.1 Reserve whisky and brandy are also among the leaders in terms of a five-year performance.
While India and China are both revered for their huge future potential by brand owners around the world – it is the US which is currently the leading spirits arena and is cited no less than 45 times as the number one market – particularly for vodka producers. Both the leading multinationals, Diageo and Pernod Ricard, had a good 2007, boasting 16 and 20 brands respectively over the million case mark, and both companies have posted strong first half results for the half year ending December 31. The big international duo for Diageo is of course Smirnoff and Johnnie Walker, while Ballantine’s and Chivas are Pernod’s number one players. It’s also interesting to note that Ballantine’s, with its 6.17m case total, is now the world’s number two Scotch whisky having finally overtaken Diageo’s J&B Rare, which appears to be at a standstill – though Diageo has restorative plans in place.
However, it’s Brown Forman’s vodka flagship Finlandia, which is the fastest growing global vodka with a 19.6% growth last year – it’s the fifth consecutive year of growth for the Finnish brand and as a result it leads the dominant global brand table with a 14.4% increase over the period. Tellingly the top six brands in this listing have posted double-digit growth over the last five years – and Pernod Ricard is in the hunt here too. Pernod’s Cuban rum Havana Club, the Irish Whiskey Jameson, Chivas Regal and Martell are all in the top six having increased year on year since 2003.
The Italian bitters brand, Fernet Branca, has also turned in a solid performance over the last five years giving it a mean 8.28% increase, pushing it well and truly through the 3m case barrier.
It’s interesting to note that the world’s top 12 spirits brands all have an estimated value of over £1 billion. The top three Diageo’s: Johnnie Walker and Smirnoff, followed by Bacardi, all boast an estimated worth of over £2bn.
