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The Diageo - United Spirits combination, which was cemented recently, has catapulted them into a position controlling a third of the top 25 brands on a global basis. On a combined basis, as much as eight brands of the two companies are among the top 25 brands ranked by IWSR, a global provider of data on wine, spirits and RTDs. This heady combination has been distillited taking the combined weight of Diageo's brands including Smirnoff vodka, Johnnie Walker scotch whisky and Captain Morgan Rum, adding to USL brands including McDowell's whisky, Celebration Rum, Bagpiper whisky, McDowell's brandy and Old Tavern whisky.
IWSR in its latest report has said that among the top 10 largest brands globally by volume, seven of the brands make up over 95 per cent of their sales in their home market. These local spirits brands are consumed in markets where international brands find it harder to penetrate. Smirnoff (#4), Bacardi (#9) and Johnnie Walker (#10) are the only brands in the top 10 that have a much more expansive global distribution. IWSR added that an alternate way to conquer the list is to buy other spirits companies such as Diageo acquiring a little over 25 per cent stake and also enabling them to control the board of United Spirits. IWSR added that as a result of the strategy, major global corporations now have a stake in 12 of the top 25 brands.
"Diageo alone has nine brands in the Real 100 and, combined with USL's brands, now boast 19 in the list. Pernod Ricard has 12 brands on the list. Russian Standard's takeover of CEDC means it now has four brands in the Real 100. The list is a reflection of today's complex spirits market with local players sitting alongside internationally-recognised powerhouses," IWSR noted.
According to the global report, the top two largest spirits brands in the world remain unchanged on the IWSR's Real 100 list this year. Hite Brewery's Jinro, the South Korean soju brand, secured the pole position for another year in succession as the brand's total consumption reached almost 68 million cases in 2012. Thai spirit Ruang Kao held the second place, but fast on its heels is Consolidated Distillers Philippines' Emperador brandy which grew a staggering 11 million 9-litre cases in 2012. Emperador brandy knocked Smirnoff, the leading international brand on the list, from the third place down to the fourth.
"All the brands that dropped out of the IWSR's Real 100 from 2011 were locally-dominant spirits brands. This comes as China, India, Russia, Japan and Brazil, some of the largest spirits markets globally, are all showing an increase in the share of imported spirits in their markets.
As the Real 100 list shows, although big volume brands are often very regionally specific, there are huge opportunities for international spirits," IWSR highlighted.
The report further noted, between 2011 and 2012 the global spirits market grew 1.6 per cent, an increase of over 50 million cases, bringing total consumption to its highest-ever level of almost 3.3 billion nine-litre cases worldwide. The combined volume of the IWSR's Real 100 list has similarly increased over the last year, with the world's top 100 brands accounting for almost a quarter of all global spirits consumption. In 2012 the list's total volume reached 808 million cases, up from 727 million cases in 2011.
TOP OF THE TOPS
DIAGEO
* Smirnoff vodka (25.9 mn cases)
* Johnnie Walker scotch whisky (18 mn cases)
* Captain Morgan rum (9.9 mn cases)
USL
* McDowell’s whisky (19.2 mn cases)
* Celebration rum (17.6 mn cases)
* Bagpiper whisky (14 mn cases)
* McDowell’s brandy (12.8 mn cases)
* Old Tavern whisky (11.6 mn cases)
