The Hindu Business Line : ‘Bagpiper gaining ground over Johnnie Walker’

The domestic boom in whisky consumption has propelled United Spirits’ Bagpiper brand to take on the iconic Johnnie Walker in the race to become the largest selling whisky in the world.

According to Impact International, a trade publication, Bagpiper managed to edge past Johnnie Walker during 2006 with its sales touching 13.39 million cases. During the same year, Diageo-owned Johnnie Walker’s sales stood at 13.23 million cases.

The publication also ranked Bagpiper the 10th fastest growing brand in the world. Since then, Johnnie Walker’s sales have grown to 15 million cases as of August 2007. Bagpiper’s sales too have grown to 13.7 million cases as of March 2007 though its numbers as of August were not available.

Impact International pointed out that 11 out of the top 25 largest selling brands are also Indian. However, if the list was calculated in value terms, not many of the Indian brands would have made it to the list.

The fact that many of these brands come from India is largely because of the fact that more and more consumers are moving away from subsistence living to seek out affordable luxuries in the country, Impact International said.

Apart from the fact that both Bagpiper and Johnnie Walker are whisky brands, they are different in several ways. Johnnie Walker is a Scotch brand and addresses SEC A and B segments while Bagpiper addresses SEC C and D segments. While the largest consumption base for Bagpiper is India, Johnnie Walker’s base is spread across several countries. Even though US is its largest market, only 11 per cent of the total sales of Johnnie Walker come out of that country.

The spokesperson for United Spirits said Bagpiper contributed 12 per cent of all brands of the company during 2006-07 and it has a 35 per cent share of the regular whisky segment. However, its sales grew 25 per cent during 2006-07 compared with 38 per cent in 2005-06 because of the expanding base of the brand. But the sales of Bagpiper does not include sales of its brand extension, Bagpiper Gold, which addresses a different segment at a different price point.

The spokesperson said marketing of Bagpiper has consistently focused on three platforms — macho, mega and movies — and has centred around celebrity endorsements.