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US and China present ‘ongoing challenges’ for Chivas Brothers
Chivas Brothers has attributed the “complexity of the global Scotch market” to the 2% sales dip its whisky portfolio faced in the first half of the 2025 financial year.
The company’s owner, Pernod Ricard, revealed its results for the first half of the 2025 financial year (H1) yesterday, with organic sales falling by 4% (6% on a reported basis) to €6.176 billion.
Its Scotch whisky arm, Chivas Brothers, saw organic net sales decline by 2%, after undergoing a “slow first quarter” before a “gradual recovery” in the second.
Chivas Brothers’ Scotch brands include blended whiskies Chivas Regal, Ballantine’s and Royal Salute, as well as single malt The Glenlivet.
The group’s chairman and CEO, Jean-Etienne Gourgues, said: “Our H1 FY25 performance reflects the complexity of the global Scotch market, along with the agility and resilience of our organisation.
“While we remain realistic about short-term challenges, we’re taking a dynamic approach to investments in our brands and in our business to help navigate through these headwinds while preserving our long-term ambition.”
‘Complex market dynamics’
In terms of brand, Ballantine’s grew by 8% while Chivas Regal was up by 3%. Ballantine’s was led by the popularity of its Ballantine’s Finest, and Chivas Regal by its Chivas 12 and Chivas 18 expressions.
The launch of Chivas Regal Extra Smoky Cask was also singled out for success, with a “strong performance” in Turkey where it launched late last year.
In contrast, The Glenlivet (down 9%) and Royal Salute (down 20%) were both in decline. Although there was growth for The Glenlivet in South Africa and India, challenging dynamics in the US and Asia hindered its overall results, while Royal Salute’s drop was attributed to reduced consumer spend in key Asian markets.
Taiwan, however, was an exception, with Chivas Brothers noting the “appetite” for Royal Salute’s signature blends remained. Previously the company’s master blender Sandy Hyslop told The Spirits Business that he considers Taiwan a “big market” for the brand, but also for Scotch whisky as a whole.
The firm saw positivity in emerging regions such as Turkey (up 56%), Brazil (up 8%) and India (up 1%), but larger markets such as the US (down 10%) and China (down 19%) presented “ongoing challenging conditions”.
Overall, Chivas Brothers noted that it “remains in growth at +5% on a five-year comparison basis”.
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