BROWN SPIRITS REPORT: SCOTCH WHISKY


Mixed results for Scotch whisky


There were very mixed results in the DF&TR Scotch Whisky market in 2015 with the world’s most authoritative analysis by IWSR pointing to a -3.3% contraction in the whole DF&TR spirits business and a -2.3% decline in Scotch sales to 7.2m (9L) cases. Doug Newhouse looks at a market in recovery mode.


T


he duty free and travel retail Scotch whisky business hasn’t had an easy time of it


in recent years with the latest 2016 IWSR Travel Retail report pointing to a -2.3% fall in global travel retail sales in 2015 to 7.2m cases – albeit ahead an improved market environment in the year that followed in 2016. The fall in Scotch’s fortunes back


in 2015 should also be seen in the context of the fast changing overall travel retail landscape for wines and spirits between then and last year, as the IWSR numbers made exclusively available to TRBusiness for this report well illustrate. While the overall travel retail


spirits market fell by -3.3% to 21.8m nine-litre equivalent cases, IWSR says this was less about consumer disenchantment and much more about unfavourable currency exchange rates and the impact of terrorism on curbing travel. Added to this were declines for


travel retail spirits ‘in all other regions’ with Chinese curbs on expensive gifting; stay-at-home Russians not spending, plus depressed knock-on effects in markets such as Asia and


MAY 2017


Eastern Europe as well as a sluggish South American market. Needless to say, Scotch – as the


largest travel retail spirits category of them all – took the biggest hit and a look at the fortunes or otherwise of the leading Scotch brands in travel retail illustrates this. A total of 27 Scotch whisky brands


reside within IWSR’s Top 100 travel retail spirits brand rankings and Diageo’s Johnnie Walker family of brands was not surprisingly way out in front with more than double the volume of its nearest category competitor and a collective volume of 2,558,700 (9L) cases in 2015 – some +2.6% up year-on-year.


Chivas Regal grows just 1% The Chivas Regal family of brands also grew by +1%, coming in second with 831,200 cases, with both these leaders reflecting the high emphasis consumers still place on buying premium blended Scotch when they travel. Interestingly, the number three


spot held by the Ballantine’s family of brands suffered an -11.6% decline to 514,300 cases and it was a similar


story for The Famous Grouse which fell back -14.2% to 331,600 cases. All other Scotch brands – blends


and malts – registered declines in IWSR’s travel retail ranking, with the exception of The Macallan. In continuing order, these included


Grant’s -24.3% to 238,900 cases; The Glenlivet -13.4% to 188,200; Dewar’s -3.7% to 169,300; Glenfiddich -13.3% to 160,900; J&B -0.8% to 159,7600; The Macallan +18.6% to 147,700; Royal Salute (ranked separately) -3.6% to 101,100; Passport -5.1 to 93,100; and Teacher’s -3.2% to 92,100. Of the remaining Scotch brands


sitting in the bottom half of IWSR’s Top 100 ranking, the other blended or single malt Scotch brands registering growth included Vat 69 +26.7% to 68,300 cases; The Singleton +43.6%


“While the overall travel retail spirits market fell by -3.3% to 21.8m nine-litre equivalent cases, this was less about consumer disenchantment and more about unfavourable currency exchange rates and terrorism.”


IWSR Travel Retail Report TRAVEL RETAIL BUSINESS 147


Above: Johnnie Walker House in Beijing Capital International Airport.


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