Confessions of a retail buyer: La Maison du Whisky

Thierry Benitah, CEO of La Maison du Whisky, explains why he is still very much involved in the spirits buying process; his Japanese whisky best-seller; and the importance of the experimental millennial generation.

For me, the worst feeling is being behind with what is happening in the industry; it makes me feel as though I am not in control. For us to be in control we really try to stay one step ahead and I think that has been the most challenging thing for the past 20 years. I am very much involved in the process of deciding what’s going to be stocked and sourcing new spirits. I am a real whisky lover and I know exactly what I am looking for when I select a whisky.

For other categories, I am perhaps not as strong, so I have people in my team who have more expertise in different categories than me and are a little more aware of what the on-trade is looking for. I listen closely to my team, but we really consider everything category by category.

One way for us to keep ahead is to select niche products. We are getting older but our customers are getting younger every year, so making ourselves attractive to those people is very important for us.

We have a very large assortment of products and we are trying to build on that all the time. We can receive anywhere between 15 and 50 products every week from the UK, US and other countries, and what we consider first and foremost is quality.

My team and I always taste everything blind; that’s very important to us. The second factor we’ll consider is packaging and then how the product fits within our existing portfolio. Then we’ll take into account the reputation of the distillery, which can really make the difference in the spirit’s overall quality.

We tend to work with smaller-sized companies. I like to meet the people behind the brand – it’s so important to get the right feeling from the person. Price isn’t really something we look too closely at to be honest. We consider the price when we agree to the product, and of course if we feel it’s too high, we’ll tell the producer. But we are not trying to negotiate with the producer.

We are very transparent with the producer and are more than happy to tell them everything we feel about the product, good and bad, and this is how we will always be. We have always tried to work honestly and allow people to see exactly who we are and what we are trying to do.

My best seller in our store here in France is Japanese whisky, Nikka. It’s complex, drinkable and a little sweeter than Scotch whisky, so maybe that’s why it’s so popular. When it comes to Japanese whiskies, you really have a complete range of flavours available, including sweet, fruity and woody.

Peaty whiskies, however, are also proving very popular within the French market. Scotch whiskies also sell very well for us.

The best seller is really consistent throughout the year. Some categories, such as gin, we might sell more of in April or May, or Cognac at the end of the year. However, generally speaking there is very little fluctuation.

We are able to bring many novelty spirits to our customers, and that’s what keeps them coming back to us. We take on 600 new products every year and we are constantly evolving. We have a fantastic selection of limited edition cask offerings and consumers are realising they can find those sorts of products with La Maison du Whisky, and not just the big brand names.

What excites me most is the whole project we are trying to build. La Maison du Whisky was started as a small company and now we have grown and expanded so much. We are passionate about our brands, passionate about spirits and I am particularly passionate about whisky.