The $2.6 billion US-based Brown-Forman Worldwide plans to increase annual sales of its Jack Daniel's whiskey brand from the present 8000 cases to 20,000 cases over the next four years, targeting a growth of 150 per cent.
The premium whiskey, imported from Lynchburg in the United States, sold about 8000 cases in the last financial year and plans to sell 10,000 cases by the end of the current fiscal. "Despite high import duty, we plan to double our sales by 2005," Amrit Kiran Singh, vice-president (Asia) of Brown-Forman Worldwide, said.
Jack Daniel's is currently sold at around $24 per 750 ml bottle in duty-free shops and retail outlets in Mumbai. The other brands in the segment are Johny Walker Black Label and Chivas Regal. Jack Daniel's sells over 6 million cases worldwide.
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Singh said the company is promoting the whiskey brand in the country by holding polo tournaments, corporate debates and quiz competitions.
He said that, with duties varying from 464 per cent to 706 per cent on imported liquor, a lot of smuggled liquor is being brought into the country. In the last fiscal, the average duties were around 210 per cent. "Though the sales of Jack Daniel's have been rising consistently since its entry into the country in 1999, smuggled liquor has already started affecting our bottomlines," he said.
Jack Daniel's would be soon available in Karnataka and Chandigarh in retail outlets, Singh said. Till date, only Maharashtra has drafted a policy on imported liquor, while Karnataka and Chandigarh would be soon announcing their policy.
Brown-Forman Worldwide also owns Californian and Italian wines under the brand Fetzer and Bolla, respectively.
Jack Daniel's distillery was acquired by Brown-Forman Corporation in 1956, when the brand was selling 2,15,000 cases per year. It grew in the mid-1970s with sales doubling from 2 million cases in 1978 to 6 million cases at present.