Pernod Ricard ‘doesn’t need’ a Bourbon brand

Pernod Ricard believes its brown spirits portfolio is so comprehensive it doesn’t need a presence in American whiskey, currently the fastest growing category in the world.

Pernod Ricard’s new CEO believes Jameson Irish whiskey fills any gap in its portfolio left by American whiskey and Bourbon

In particular, new CEO Alexandre Ricard has said its flagship Irish whiskey Jameson “can cover” the gap the French drinks group has in its portfolio.

Speaking to media at a presentation of its 2014/15 half-year results in London today, Ricard said the group’s portfolio of spirits covers “most if not all the moments of consumption in the world”, which is the way consumers view spirits.

“In the US the fastest growing categories are brown spirits more generally speaking. There’s Bourbon, American whiskey, North American whiskey including Canadian and Cognac, and there’s Scotch malts and Jameson,” he said.

“At the end of the day it’s more about having the right portfolio strategy for all different moments of consumption in the US and the Bourbon moment you’re referring to we can cover with the likes of Jameson.”

Citing Nielsen figures, Ricard added that in the US, which along with the rest of the Americas represents 27% of the group’s global sales, Jameson is growing at 10% annually, and The Glenlivet at 14%.

However, the incoming CEO, who was formally appointed in the position last week, fell short of completely ruling out an acquisition in the future.

“I didn’t say we don’t want to be involved,” he defended. “We don’t have a Bourbon whiskey but it doesn’t represent in itself an issue. We have many brands that compete in that space. We don’t know what the future is made of. Should opportunities pop up we’ll clearly look at them; it’s a question of the right opportunity, price and time.”

However, he admitted Pernod Ricard’s footprint in the US could do with some attention.

“We are slightly under exposed in the US given its size but we have critical mass.”

Pernod Ricard does have a small presence in North American whiskey, with Wiser’s and Pike’s Creek Canadian whiskies.

According to a recent report by Vinexpo and the IWSR, sales of Bourbon are expected to soar by 19.3% to 45m cases between 2015 and 2018 – the fastest rate of growth expected from any spirit category.

In the six months of its 2014/15 financial year, Pernod Ricard recorded just 1% organic sales growth, alongside a 5% dip in profits.

However sales of Jameson grew 10% by value and 8% by volume, with The Glenlivet – one of only two single malt Scotch whiskies to sell over one million cases annually – growing 14% by value and 11% by volume.