Net sales of Jameson improved by just 1 per cent globally in the 12 months to the end of June as the spirits market continued to normalise post-Covid, Pernod Ricard said on Thursday.
Some 10.7 million cases of the Irish whiskey were sold last year, essentially flat compared with the previous 12 months after several years of strong volume growth off the back of the pandemic when global travel boomed back, along with on-trade sales following the lifting of public health restrictions.
Pernod Ricard, which owns Jameson-maker Irish Distillers, reported a 1 per cent decline in global net sales across its brand portfolio in its latest financial year as sales in China and the US slumped. The decline was in line with market expectations and Pernod’s own guidance amid strong headwinds across the industry this year.
Overall Pernod’s sales declined by 9 per cent in the US and 10 per cent in China, where weak consumer sentiment impacted demand in the year.
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In the US Pernod said Jameson held its market share while sales in China were “stable” in the year. India, meanwhile, became the second largest market for the Irish whiskey brand behind the US with sales up 52 per cent there last year, according to a statement from Irish Distillers.
“India has gone from being an emerging market to Jameson’s second biggest domestic market in a matter of years as consumers continue to experiment with new brands,” said Irish Distillers chief executive Nodjame Fouad in a statement.
Spirit-makers, including Pernod and Johnnie Walker-maker Diageo, have pressed ahead with so-called premiumisation strategies in recent times, marketing more exclusive products at wealthier consumers as a way of compensating for declining alcohol sales globally. With inflation rampant in the world’s biggest economies post-pandemic, that strategy has been tested over the past two years as consumers continued to pare back spending on non-essential goods.
Still, Pernod said it continued to see “strong premiumisation trends” in India across its brand portfolio last year.
Meanwhile, the Midleton, Co Cork-based distillery saw a 1 per cent increase in global net sales of its prestige portfolio – including Midleton Very Rare, Redbreast and the Spot whiskeys – reflecting “continued consumer demand for more premium products”.
Pernod chairman and chief executive Alexandre Ricard said the full-year results were “robust” and were achieved “within an environment of economic and geopolitical uncertainty and spirits market normalisation after two years of exceptional post-pandemic growth”.
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