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K. Giriprakash

Bangalore, Dec. 11 Economic recession does not seem to have affected the sales of luxury liquor brands in India, with the world’s largest alcoholic drinks maker, Diageo, claiming that sales of some of these brands, priced above Rs 50,000 per bottle, has been recording extremely high growth.

“Our reserve brands have been growing at 40 per cent,” Mr Santhosh Kanekar, the marketing director of the Indian operations of Diageo which makes marquee brands such as Johnnie Walker Scotch whisky and Smirnoff vodka, told Business Line.

Reserve brands are those which are priced extremely high and are known for their “fine craftsmanship”. They are of very high quality and cater to a discerning consumer.

The Johnnie Walker Blue Label King George V whisky, priced at over Rs 50,000 per 750 ml, Johnnie Walker Blue Label priced at about Rs 18,000 per bottle and brands such as Ciroc vodka (made from grapes) and Tanqueray NO TEN gin and a few others are part of the reserve brand portfolio of Diageo.

Because of the high sales for these brands, Diageo is planning to introduce a few more of them among the reserve brands, which includes Zacapa rum and Kepel 1 vodka.

Mr Kanekar said even brands such as Smirnoff, VAT 69 and Johnnie Walker Red Label and Black Label have posted sales of between 35 per cent and 40 per cent during the last quarter. He, however, ruled out any immediate plans to launch low-priced brands in India.

He pointed out that to a certain extent, “on-premise” consumption of its brands have come down because of the recent terrorist attacks. “This is more evident in the Bangalore market where on-premise traffic has come down for various reasons,” he said.

Therefore, Diageo has launched a new scheme for its customers by offering to send bartenders or even DJs whenever they hold events or parties.

Mr Kanekar said the company’s sales have been growing at about 40 per cent CAGR and it now wants to popularise its branded wine boutiques. It has already launched one such boutique in Mumbai.

Mr Kanekar said Diageo has taken over the marketing of Masterstroke whisky, which is a brand launched by the Diageo-Radico Khaitan joint venture. “We felt it can do better in sales because it has one of the highest retention ratios among the liquor brands,” he said.

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