SPIRITS: TRADE TALK

WE ASKED: “How can spirits maintain market share in such a competitive UK drinks market?”

“We can maintain market share by relentlessly keeping the category invigorated, creating new products and exciting packaging that targets all purchasing motivations, and perhaps most importantly by educating the consumers about new, different, better ways to drink their favourite spirits. Keeping theproducts relevant to consumers’ ever changing lifestyles is also vital.”
James Prescott, Global Travel Retail Director, Whyte & Mackay

“In the on-trade, 67% of drinkers don’t know what they want to order at the bar, so brands with the most top of mind awareness will always be chosen. In the off-trade, 25% of purchases are for gifts. People will only buy brands they know and trust. Display drives impulse purchase, which represents 60% of spirit purchase in the off-trade. The Holy Grail is, therefore, driving spontaneous awareness. This can be done by focusing on consideration and relevance. Brands that have credible and relevant communication; communicate near point of consumption or purchase; are highly visible; have strong advocacy programmes; a single-minded perfect serve and understand that the mode of consumption of their brand is what will maintain their market share, are the ones that will succeed.”
Roger Harrison, Head of Marketing, Pernod Ricard UK

“Maintaining share (or growing it) is a difficult trick to pull off and requires more than one string to a brand’s bow. In the on-trade most brands need to recruit new or lapsed consumers and therefore need to steal from wine and beer and the few mega-brands that dominate the channel. They need to do this via innovative promotional activities and bar staff communication and by constantly widening distribution to their target consumer. Too many brands are happy to remain in London. They must push out and help the major accounts develop their own spirits offerings.”
Marc Charles, Managing Director, Drinks Brands International

“The UK spirits market faces a very competitive environment for the foreseeable future. The focus for the future needs to be similar to other types of industries that face this challenge: do not lose focus on the fact that although people seem driven to buy on a price led basis they do have an emotional link to brands. Whisky brands have to ensure that they
do not lose sight of the fact that they are brands first and price competitive second. For those whiskies that continue to chase the volume through price led discounting: at what point do they stop and change tack if consumers simply associate them as ‘that whisky that is always on promotion’?”
Jason Craig, Global Controller, Highland Park

“Spirits can maintain share in the UK, as we have seen via some of the strategies of certain premium vodka, malt whisky, gin and liqueur brands. Younger, more affluent consumers are craving the opportunity to learn more about some of the older, possibly darker, spirits categories. The growth in cocktails proves this. Suppliers and retailers need to demystify these brands and use category communications, making them more accessible in image and taste. Plus they need a more relevant route to consumers via websites such as In-The-Spirit, informing and educating. Innovation, adding points of difference and value, such as Hendrick’s gin, helps people become ‘individual’ rather than ‘mass market’, driven only by price consumers. But it will take real commitment from all levels of the supply chain to reverse a deflationary spirits market and bring back some excitement and uniqueness – and that takes investment and creativity.”
Chris Mason, Managing Director, First Drinks Brands

© db November 2006