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Shanken News Daily P.S. If you already receive Shanken News Daily, you don't have to do anything. We hope you continue to enjoy it. •Diageo’s U.S. Sales Rise 3%, As Whisk(e)y Growth Offsets Vodka Struggles Diageo has posted a 3% increase in its U.S. business for the 12 months through June, as solid growth across a number of whisk(e)y brands overcame ongoing softness in the vodka category. Whisk(e)y growth was led by Crown Royal, which saw organic net sales rise 3% in North America, as well as Johnnie Walker (+8%) and Bulleit (+10%). Crown Royal Deluxe and Regal Apple led the way for the Canadian whisky franchise, while Johnnie Walker enjoyed double-digit progress within its Reserve tier, partially driven by the high-end Blue Label. Read more. •Gallo Expands In Upscale Spirits, Adding Diplomático Rum To Portfolio E.&J. Gallo is upping its presence in the luxury spirits category, agreeing to become the new U.S. importer for Venezuela’s Diplomático rum brand. Previously handled in the U.S. by Domaine Select, Diplomático will be grouped in Gallo’s expanding upscale spirits portfolio, which also includes single malt Scotch whiskies Jura and Dalmore, and American brandies Germain-Robin and Argonaut. Read more. •World Whiskies Draw Increased Attention From U.S. Consumers While Bourbon, Irish, Canadian, and Scotch whiskies are benefiting from the brown spirits boom, world whiskies from countries like Japan, India, France, and Australia are rapidly developing a profile. Of Whisky Advocate’s Top 20 Whiskies of 2017, two were world whiskies: Rampur Select from India ranked No.-5 at 93 points, while Japanese whisky Fukano 2017 Edition came in at No.-20 with 90 points. “Consumers today are open and willing to discover new tastes. They’re looking for new stories, origins, and interpretations of a product that they already know,” says Michael Boccanfuso, marketing manager for Baron Francois, Ltd., importer of Rozelieures and Meyer’s French whiskies. Read more. •Bill Street, Longtime President Of Brown-Forman, Passes Away At Age 79 On Thursday, Brown-Forman announced the death of longtime executive Bill Street, who died after a long battle with cancer. He was 79. Street, a Louisville native, graduated from Princeton and earned an MBA from Harvard, and then worked at Brown-Forman for his entire career. He joined the company in 1956 as a sales trainee, and rose to become president and CEO of Brown-Forman Beverages Worldwide, the company’s beverage unit, before being named president of the corporation in 2000. Street retired from that role in 2003. Read more. •Cuervo’s U.S. Sales Slip In Second Quarter As Distributors Reduce Inventories Grupo Cuervo saw its North America volume drop 7% to 3.6 million cases in the three months through June, while net sales slipped 0.4% to MXN$5 billion ($267.6 million) compared to the previous year. Cuervo blamed the decline on “reduced inventory levels across the supply chain and the comparison to a temporary distributor inventory increase during the second quarter of 2017.” Read more. •Bardstown Bourbon Firing On All Cylinders, As Capacity Tops 3 Million Cases With the whiskey boom going strong, Kentucky’s Bardstown Bourbon Co. has been in expansion mode since opening its $25 million distillery in September of 2016. Minority-owned by Constellation Brands, Bardstown—which produces custom whiskies for various brands as part of its Collaborative Distilling Program—last year doubled its capacity to 3 million proof gallons (or about 1.6 million 9-liter cases). This year, the distiller is wrapping up its second major expansion, which has raised capacity to roughly 6.8 million proof gallons (or about 3.6 million cases) and brings the facility’s total investment to around $40 million. Read more. •Cava Looks To Capitalize On Sparkling Wine’s Upswing While Prosecco and Champagne have benefited the most from sparkling wine’s recent growth in the U.S. market, Cava is also seeing opportunity for expansion. Cava shipments to the U.S. grew by 24% from 2012-2016, though volumes slipped slightly last year to 1.75 million cases. In IRI channels, total Cava volume rose by 4% in the year-to-date ending June 17. Read more. Top News Briefs: •Anheuser-Busch InBev posted U.S. revenues down 2.8% for the first half of 2018, as accelerated growth by the company’s above-premium portfolio failed to offset the ongoing struggles of the mainstream segment.
•Washington state-based Ste. Michelle Wine Estates is enjoying a solid rebound so far in 2018, posting a net revenue rise of 6.2% to $308 million for the six months ended June 30.
•Moët Hennessy enjoyed a strong first half of 2017, with revenues up 7% on an organic basis to €2.3 billion ($2.7b) and profit from recurring operations increasing 7% to €726 million ($848m).
•Australian wine exports posted a 20% value increase in the year through June, despite a 4% decline in the North American market. | |
