Scotch slips in travel retail brand standings

While Scotch whisky continues to dominate travel retail spirits, half of the category’s leading brands recorded declines in 2015, as the wider sector contracted 3.3%.

Johnnie Walker was one of the few blended Scotch brands to post travel retail gains in 2015

According to IWSR Magazine Travel Retail Top 100 data, blended Scotch brands led the losses, while a number of single malts, including The Macallan, The Singleton, Laphroaig and The Balvenie bucking the trend.

However Johnnie Walker, which remains the largest spirit brands in the channel, saw volume sales increase from the 2.25 million cases recorded in 2014 to 2.58m in 2015.

The IWSR attributes the wider declines to the Americas and Asia Pacific travel retail regions, which shrank by 6.3% and 1.3% respectively between 2014 and 2015.

Overall, the travel retail spirits market’s 3.3% contraction in 2015 was the equivalent of 750,000 cases over the year.

In terms of category development, Cognac posted a “mixed” performance with sales down in Asia Pacific and Europe, but with marginal growth across the Americas. Of the five Cognac brands to rank in the top 100, Hennessy and Martell reported overall growth, but Courvoisier, Rémy Martin and Camus saw declines.

Gin however reported overall growth with volume sales up 5.7%.

New entrants to the Travel Retail Top 100 ranking include Fireball Cinnamon Whisky, Wild Turkey Bourbon and Bundaberg Rum, however Bowmore, Drambuie and Becherovka all slipped out.

IWSR data released in August showed that travel retail spirits saw 2015 value sales declines of 4.2%, however volumes of super-premium spirits across all categories saw a 3.7% uplift.