Johnnie's walk not enough to stride ahead of Chivas Regal

Jhonnie Walker, the world’s largest selling scotch whiskey has lost its pace in India and it is its smaller rival Chivas Regal who took the lead. This for the first time that world’s scotch giant’s sales has been challenged by a smaller brand.

As per the market data, Chivas Regal managed to sell its 12 year old scotch’s 1.37 lakh cases as compared to 1.29 lakh cases of Jhonnie Walker Black Label in the bottled-at-source, premium blended scotch segment.

According to the latest report from International Wine and Spirits Research (IWSR), though the Johnnie Walker family of brands together outsells the competing Chivas Regal portfolio, the loss of leadership in the country's most visible segment of scotch consumption is a setback for Diageo. Johnnie Walker Black has lagged behind the peer from the stables of Pernod Ricard in the five year and ten year compounded growth rates, while volume sales last year tumbled 21.8 per cent.

This data accumulates sales of domestic retail as well as duty free sales. India gets its most duty free sales through the airports (almost 80 per cent) and hence it can be marked as the most convenient route for domestic consumption. Pernod Ricard's sustained, promotional work at duty-free and strong show in pushing sales at upmarket on-trade premises has favored slow and steady climb of Chivas Regal, said top industry observers who didn't wish to be named. Interestingly, data from Canadean, which takes into account domestic sales only, shows Johnnie walker much ahead of Chivas Regal.

Chivas Regal 12-Year-Old saw depletion rise 12.3 per cent last calendar, up from 1.22 lakh cases in 2014. The brand which Pernod Ricard acquired from Seagram's in one of the biggest industry consolidation deals outpaced Johnnie Walker with 9.9 per cent and 14.7 per cent compounded growth over a five year and ten year period respectively. Johnnie Walker reported 2.7 per cent and 2.3 per cent growth over a similar time frame, IWSR added.