Bourbon Sparks Brown Spirits Resurgence
Brown spirits led by whiskey experienced a resurgence in 2008 in the U.S., says Nielsen, after recent years of white spirits leading sales growth. In fact, U.S. sales growth for whiskey and brown spirits is outperforming the growth rate of the overall spirits category this year.
Whiskey growth rates have been rising steadily this year, with whiskey dollar sales increasing nearly $85 million or 4.4% in 2008, up from 2.3% a year ago. By comparison, dollar sales growth for spirits has largely remained unchanged. At the same time, whiskey volume, while declining a year ago, is now showing growth.
The brown resurgence is being led by Bourbons, doubling its dollar growth rate of a year ago, but is also boosted by gains from the Canadian Whiskey, Blended Whiskey and Irish Whiskey segments.
Whiskey sales increase sharply at the back end of the year, with weekly dollar sales in November and December as much as double the annual average and share of total spirits increasing by five percentage points to more than 35%. Consumers spend more on brown spirits as the temperature drops and during the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year holidays.
Despite the struggling economy, ultra-premium products, with an average price of approximately $45 per bottle, continue to record the strongest growth rates among brown spirits.
“Brown is back,” said Danny Brager, vice president, Beverage Alcohol, The Nielsen Company. “Consumers and bar managers tell us that brown’s ‘mixability’ and rich taste, along with increased consumer knowledge are contributing to the brown spirits comeback. It’s critical that retailers make sure their in-store promotional and merchandising efforts take advantage of whiskey’s winter seasonality.”
GOOGLE’S ADWORD NOW OPEN TO SPIRITS
Google has changed its AdWord policy to allow spirits and liqueurs advertise in the U.S. after opening the door to beer in the fall. To comply with the updated policy, advertisers must promote the information about spirits and liqueurs found on their websites, such as recipes and brand messages. Ads that directly promote the sale of “hard alcohol and liqueurs,” as google put it, are still not permissible through their program. In contrast, advertisements for beer may directly promote its sale.
For example, spirits brands can market to individuals searching for alcohol-related information by promoting holiday cocktail ideas or the caloric content of popular spiked beverages. Beer, however, is able to specifically promote brands. Google says it plans to expand its new policy to other countries in the coming weeks.
AUSTRALIAN WINE PRICES EXPECTED TO DROP 30%
Fosters Growers Liaison Group chairman Dennis Mills said Friday that prices of most Australian wine varieties are expected to drop as much as 30-40% from last year. He said uncontracted chardonnay grapes will be impossible to sale.
"If you work that backwards from what we had last year, and admittedly some of the prices for last year were very good for the red grapes, but the outlook is very disappointing and I have to say I am terribly concerned about where we are going and what the future of the wine industry in this area is," he said.
LVMH ACQUIRES NEW CHAMPAGNE
LVMH Moet Hennessy has acquired the operations of the Montaudon champagne house, which was founded in 1891. Financial details were not provided. Chairman Christophe Navarre, said: "The acquisition of Montaudon enables us to complete our portfolio of prestigious brands and to increase our champagne reserves. This corresponds with Moet Hennessy's strategy to strengthen its worldwide leadership in the luxury wines and spirits sector."
COPIA UNLIKELY TO RE-OPEN ITS DOORS
A federal bankruptcy court judge has blocked Copia from securing a $2 million emergency loan in attempts to stay open while it tried to reorganize $80 million in debts. As a result, Napa-based Copia is unlikely to reopen soon, if ever. Recall that Copia suspended its operations on December 1 and filed for bankruptcy with hopes to re-open. However, permanent closure seems more likely at the moment. According to the The Sacramento Bee, chief Garry McGuire said: "The organization will wind down and be dissolved eventually. There are no funds to pay employees, lawyers or PR firms."
U.S. WINES OVERTAKE FRANCE IN THE U.K.
U.S. wine overtook France in popularity in the UK this past year thanks mainly to Californian rosé and a slump in demand for cheaper French wines. Led by Australia, France is now number three for the first time in the UK's wine consumption league table. Sales of US wine grew 5% to £781 million in the year to November, while French sales declined -3% to £780 million. Volumes of U.S. wines also grew 3% to 140 million liters, while France slipped -7% to 130 million liters. British women in particular like California’s rosé, which rose 17% in the year to October. French rosé, meanwhile, declined -9% in volume and -5% in value in 2008.
WSD BRIEFS:
JIM BEAM WILL CONTINUE SPONSORING ROBBY GORDON during the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. The deal marks the company’s fifth year of partnership with RGM, a relationship that began when Gordon created the team in 2005. Jim Beam will be the primary sponsor for 13 Sprint Cup Series races in 2009, and will serve as an associate sponsor for the remaining events.
KRUG CHAMPAGNE’S NEW CEO, Margareth Henriquez, will take her new position in January, the company said. Margareth succeeds Panos Sarantopolous, who left LVMH-owned Krug at the beginning of December for family reasons. She was most recently chief at Bodegas Chandon in Argentina.
THE AUCTION FOR KIRKLAND RANCH WINERY in Napa earlier this month did not generate any qualified bids, according to local reports. Interest mainly centered on the Jamieson Canyon Road winery, but none of the bids were over over the reserve prices of $22 million for the 69-acre winery property or $26 million for the winery plus an additional 186 acres. The winery is still in search of a buyer and currently accepting offers.
BROWN-FORMAN HAS APPOINTED GARVIN BROWN managing director of Western Europe and Africa, effective January 1. Garvin succeeds David Dearie and will be responsible for the company’s sales, marketing and other functional responsibilities in these markets. Garvin, who is also presiding chairman of Brown-Forman’s board of directors, has served as vice president, director Jack Daniel’s marketing in Europe and Africa since 2004.
Until tomorrow, Megan
“I hate mankind, for I think myself one of the best of them, and I know how bad I am.”
Joseph Baretti
--------- Sell Day Calendar ----------
Today's Sell Day: 11
Sell days this month: 22
Sell days this month last year: 20
This month ends on a: Wed.
This month last year ended on a: Mon.
YTD sell days Over/Under: +1
BEER SUMMIT 2009 - The Four Seasons, Austin, Texas - Join us for great speakers, intelligent discourse, good food, and of course great beer at the next Beer Summit on March 1 - 2, 2009. Click here: http://tinyurl.com/beersummit
WINE & SPIRITS DAILY
Subscribe or check back issues at: www.winespiritsdaily.com
Send news and comments in confidence to: megan@winespiritsdaily.com
© 2008 Wine & Spirits Daily, all rights reserved. May quote with attribution.
Whiskey growth rates have been rising steadily this year, with whiskey dollar sales increasing nearly $85 million or 4.4% in 2008, up from 2.3% a year ago. By comparison, dollar sales growth for spirits has largely remained unchanged. At the same time, whiskey volume, while declining a year ago, is now showing growth.
The brown resurgence is being led by Bourbons, doubling its dollar growth rate of a year ago, but is also boosted by gains from the Canadian Whiskey, Blended Whiskey and Irish Whiskey segments.
Whiskey sales increase sharply at the back end of the year, with weekly dollar sales in November and December as much as double the annual average and share of total spirits increasing by five percentage points to more than 35%. Consumers spend more on brown spirits as the temperature drops and during the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year holidays.
Despite the struggling economy, ultra-premium products, with an average price of approximately $45 per bottle, continue to record the strongest growth rates among brown spirits.
“Brown is back,” said Danny Brager, vice president, Beverage Alcohol, The Nielsen Company. “Consumers and bar managers tell us that brown’s ‘mixability’ and rich taste, along with increased consumer knowledge are contributing to the brown spirits comeback. It’s critical that retailers make sure their in-store promotional and merchandising efforts take advantage of whiskey’s winter seasonality.”
GOOGLE’S ADWORD NOW OPEN TO SPIRITS
Google has changed its AdWord policy to allow spirits and liqueurs advertise in the U.S. after opening the door to beer in the fall. To comply with the updated policy, advertisers must promote the information about spirits and liqueurs found on their websites, such as recipes and brand messages. Ads that directly promote the sale of “hard alcohol and liqueurs,” as google put it, are still not permissible through their program. In contrast, advertisements for beer may directly promote its sale.
For example, spirits brands can market to individuals searching for alcohol-related information by promoting holiday cocktail ideas or the caloric content of popular spiked beverages. Beer, however, is able to specifically promote brands. Google says it plans to expand its new policy to other countries in the coming weeks.
AUSTRALIAN WINE PRICES EXPECTED TO DROP 30%
Fosters Growers Liaison Group chairman Dennis Mills said Friday that prices of most Australian wine varieties are expected to drop as much as 30-40% from last year. He said uncontracted chardonnay grapes will be impossible to sale.
"If you work that backwards from what we had last year, and admittedly some of the prices for last year were very good for the red grapes, but the outlook is very disappointing and I have to say I am terribly concerned about where we are going and what the future of the wine industry in this area is," he said.
LVMH ACQUIRES NEW CHAMPAGNE
LVMH Moet Hennessy has acquired the operations of the Montaudon champagne house, which was founded in 1891. Financial details were not provided. Chairman Christophe Navarre, said: "The acquisition of Montaudon enables us to complete our portfolio of prestigious brands and to increase our champagne reserves. This corresponds with Moet Hennessy's strategy to strengthen its worldwide leadership in the luxury wines and spirits sector."
COPIA UNLIKELY TO RE-OPEN ITS DOORS
A federal bankruptcy court judge has blocked Copia from securing a $2 million emergency loan in attempts to stay open while it tried to reorganize $80 million in debts. As a result, Napa-based Copia is unlikely to reopen soon, if ever. Recall that Copia suspended its operations on December 1 and filed for bankruptcy with hopes to re-open. However, permanent closure seems more likely at the moment. According to the The Sacramento Bee, chief Garry McGuire said: "The organization will wind down and be dissolved eventually. There are no funds to pay employees, lawyers or PR firms."
U.S. WINES OVERTAKE FRANCE IN THE U.K.
U.S. wine overtook France in popularity in the UK this past year thanks mainly to Californian rosé and a slump in demand for cheaper French wines. Led by Australia, France is now number three for the first time in the UK's wine consumption league table. Sales of US wine grew 5% to £781 million in the year to November, while French sales declined -3% to £780 million. Volumes of U.S. wines also grew 3% to 140 million liters, while France slipped -7% to 130 million liters. British women in particular like California’s rosé, which rose 17% in the year to October. French rosé, meanwhile, declined -9% in volume and -5% in value in 2008.
WSD BRIEFS:
JIM BEAM WILL CONTINUE SPONSORING ROBBY GORDON during the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. The deal marks the company’s fifth year of partnership with RGM, a relationship that began when Gordon created the team in 2005. Jim Beam will be the primary sponsor for 13 Sprint Cup Series races in 2009, and will serve as an associate sponsor for the remaining events.
KRUG CHAMPAGNE’S NEW CEO, Margareth Henriquez, will take her new position in January, the company said. Margareth succeeds Panos Sarantopolous, who left LVMH-owned Krug at the beginning of December for family reasons. She was most recently chief at Bodegas Chandon in Argentina.
THE AUCTION FOR KIRKLAND RANCH WINERY in Napa earlier this month did not generate any qualified bids, according to local reports. Interest mainly centered on the Jamieson Canyon Road winery, but none of the bids were over over the reserve prices of $22 million for the 69-acre winery property or $26 million for the winery plus an additional 186 acres. The winery is still in search of a buyer and currently accepting offers.
BROWN-FORMAN HAS APPOINTED GARVIN BROWN managing director of Western Europe and Africa, effective January 1. Garvin succeeds David Dearie and will be responsible for the company’s sales, marketing and other functional responsibilities in these markets. Garvin, who is also presiding chairman of Brown-Forman’s board of directors, has served as vice president, director Jack Daniel’s marketing in Europe and Africa since 2004.
Until tomorrow, Megan
“I hate mankind, for I think myself one of the best of them, and I know how bad I am.”
Joseph Baretti
--------- Sell Day Calendar ----------
Today's Sell Day: 11
Sell days this month: 22
Sell days this month last year: 20
This month ends on a: Wed.
This month last year ended on a: Mon.
YTD sell days Over/Under: +1
BEER SUMMIT 2009 - The Four Seasons, Austin, Texas - Join us for great speakers, intelligent discourse, good food, and of course great beer at the next Beer Summit on March 1 - 2, 2009. Click here: http://tinyurl.com/beersummit
WINE & SPIRITS DAILY
Subscribe or check back issues at: www.winespiritsdaily.com
Send news and comments in confidence to: megan@winespiritsdaily.com
© 2008 Wine & Spirits Daily, all rights reserved. May quote with attribution.
posted at 2:29 PM
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