William Grant ‘can’t be complacent’ about Hendrick’s

Despite reporting a “standout” year for Hendrick’s gin in the channel, William Grant & Son’s global travel retail director Ed Cottrell has cautioned against complacency as the category becomes increasingly congested.

Cottrell says William Grant “can’t be complacent” about the success of Hendrick’s

Speaking at the TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes this week, Cottrell said the William Grant GTR division was in “year-on-year” growth, with key brands outperforming the market.

He cited Monkey Shoulder, Glenfiddich and Hendrick’s as key brands in the GTR space, but acknowledged fierce competition, particularly from gin competitors.

“Clearly Hendrick’s is the standout success for us and continues to be, but we will not be complacent; the gin category has got very crowded, just walking around Cannes this year, there are so many more gins, craft gins, which look really exciting and really, really good,” Cottrell told The Spirits Business.

“And we almost created that [craft gin] category, but we cannot be complacent or arrogant about that. It’s a great fun brand and retailers love it, and we’ve got to keep coming with fresh ideas.”

Cottrell pointed to activations including a cucumber-slicing bicycle which drive consumer engagement in the GTR channel.

“If any of our retail customers say ‘how do you create an experience for travellers in our stores?’ [Hendrick’s] is the first brand they think of because we have done the most fantastic experiences over the past two to three years – and we will continue to do that.”

IWSR data released earlier this year cited Hendrick’s as a key brand driver fuelling 6% category growth in the GTR gin category.

Cottrell joined William Grant in June 2016 after working as an independent consultant in the sector.