Portuguese beverage company PrimeDrinks is expecting to grow 3% this year compared to 2015, as well as increase sales by more than 250,000 bottles.
The company’s general director, Cláudia Portugal, told the Lusa news agency that 20.5 million bottles were sold in 2015 (2% more than in 2014) and more than €53 million were invoiced.
The shareholders of the company, which is active in the wine, spirits and 'Premium' olive oil markets, are Herdade do Esporão (50%), Aveleda (15%) and William Grant & Sons (35%).
PrimeDrinks distributes its products directly to the Off Trade (Hypermarkets and Supermarkets) and On Trade channels (Storage and Cash & Carry), which in turn sells to the HoReCa channel.
According to Cláudia Portugal, "2016 was marked by great innovation, with several releases anticipating trends" in various categories including wine, sangria, whiskey, rum, tequila and brandy, but wines "continue to be an important growth lever" for the company.
However, she pointed out that the increase of the tax burden on alcoholic beverages in Portugal "has had a significant impact on the demand and margin of producers and distributors" and admitted that 2017 will not be an exception.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
