Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Tuesday, Jul 19, 2005
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Tuesday, Jul 19, 2005 |
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Marketing
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Channels and Franchises Bagga plans to pep up Khodays liquor brands in north, east India Boby Kurian
Bangalore , July 18
BAGGA Millennium Liquor India Pvt Ltd, which acquired the marketing and distribution rights of the Khodays liquor brands on long lease, is forecasting volume sales up to 2.5 million cases in 2005-06. The company, floated by the Hyderabad-based liquor distributor and bottler, Mr Harminder Singh Bagga, is attempting to resurrect the Khodays brands in the north and east of the country initially. "We are expecting to sell between 2-2.5 million cases this year. The brands have hit some of the markets in the North and in the East where the Khodays brands enjoy reasonably high recall," Mr Bagga told Business Line. The company's initial focus is on Red Knight Whisky, a semi-premium offering, which is attempting a comeback in markets such as Haryana and Punjab, where it once enjoyed some clout. "The brand is averaging about 70,000 cases monthly, and its sales for the full year should be in the vicinity of a million cases," Mr Bagga added. Along with Red Knight Whisky, the other brands receiving initial focus include Peter Scot Whisky, which is expected to mop up sales of 2.5 lakh cases in the current year, and the economy priced Democrat Whisky. Mr Bagga said the brands will gonational once the manufacturing and supply constraints eased in the coming months. The Khodays spirits business, once a powerhouse in the Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) market, fell into disarray with cash constraints as the promoter family diversified into new sectors. Most of their bottling units - numbering about 10 - across the country faced closure and the brands started losing ground even in their home turf, Karnataka. The Khodays liquor business boasts of brands such as Peter Scot, a premium whisky, Red Knight Whisky, Hercules Rum and a host of second line brands that include Democrat Whisky and Khodays Rum. Meanwhile, Mr Bagga, who will handle the distribution in most of the southern markets himself, has come up with a string of influential distributors to handle the brands in the North and in the East. The list includes Mr B.P. Singh for Punjab, Mr Ashok Chawla for Haryana, Mr G.P. Singh for Dehi, Mr Tilak Raj Sharma in Uttar Pradesh and Mr Anil Grover in Kolkata.
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