ABD eyeing 10 pc market share

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SME Times News Bureau | 25 Apr, 2012
After its all-India foray into the semi premium whiskey market last August, Allied Blenders and Distillers (ABD), the country's third largest spirits company, is eyeing a 10 percent market share in this rapidly growing segment by the end of 2013-14, a top company executive said Tuesday.

The company had already entered into the segment with the introduction of 'Officer's Choice Blue' in Assam and Maharashtra five months ago.

"We have already launched the brand in Assam and Maharashtra. Today, we are launching it in West Bengal. We will launch it across the country, except Rajasthan and Bihar, in August," ABD chief sales and marketing officer Roopak Chaturvedi said in Kolkata.

"We will probably launch this brand in Rajasthan and Bihar in the next financial year. We are aiming to catch a market share of 10 percent in the semi premium whiskey segment by the end of FY14," Chaturvedi said.

He informed that issues related to pricing of the whiskey delayed the launch in the two states.

According to Chaturvedi, the 41 million cases (a case is equal to nine litres) segment is currently growing at a rate of 16-17 percent annually in the country.

"At the end of this fiscal we are aiming to clock about 5 percent market share (in the segment)," he said.

The company, which already has Jolly Rogers rum and Class 21 Vodka in its portfolio, sold a total of about 18 million cases last fiscal.

The company is eyeing 20 percent sales growth in volume terms in this financial year compared to last fiscal.

Chaturvedi said that the third largest spirits company in India will soon launch 'Officer's Choice Blue', a semi-premium whiskey, in Nigeria and Malaysia within a couple of months.

"We have already tested the product in Nigeria and Malaysia. The response is good. We are looking to launch the product in these markets within a couple of months," ABD chief sales and marketing officer Roopak Chaturvedi told reporters here.

The company, which has its flagship brand Officer's Choice, the second largest-selling whisky brand in the world, is also planning to launch Officer's Choice Blue in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

"We are also looking at markets in Southeast Asia and Middle East as well," Chaturvedi said.

The company, which exported about 1.2 million cases (nine litres each) last fiscal, is hoping that the numbers would grow in this financial year.