Pernod Ricard has for the first time seen its growth rate for ‘prestige’ whisky (i.e. mid-priced and premium products) outstripped by Diageo-owned rival United Spirits Limited, IndiaTimes.com has reported.
United Spirits, which controls whisky brands such as McDowell's No.1, Bagpiper, Signature, and Royal Challenge, posted growth of 11% for 2016 H2, while Pernod Ricard's figure stood at 3% for the six months.
In terms of prestige whiskey, Pernod occupies a larger plot of the market overall, however, with 43 million cases sold annually, in comparison to United Spirits’ 32 million.
Anand Kripalu, managing director for the latter, said his firm is making "huge progress in its strategy of making profitable brands a richer part of our sales, which now represents 60% of the overall volume."
United Spirits is the largest spirits company in India, with more than 140 liquor brands and SKUs.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Peter Donnelly. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
