'The malt whisky market has huge potential'.

Byline: Dhiman Chattopadhyay

Summary: Glenmorangie, one of the oldest malt whisky brands in the world, now owned by Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy, is yet to crack the Indian market despite India consuming 92 million cases of whisky annually.

Glenmorangie, one of the oldest malt whisky brands in the world, now owned by Louis Vuitton Mo & euml;t Hennessy, is yet to crack the Indian market despite India consuming 92 million cases of whisky annually. Its Global Business Development Director David Ridley talks about the problems and business plans. Excerpts:

Indians consume more whisky than most other nations. Yet the malt whisky market is negligible. Why is this? Globally, too, malt whisky has only an 8 per cent market share, with 92 per cent preferring blended whisky. Malt whisky targets only the high-end consumer who craves exclusivity. After LVMH bought Glenmorangie, we have been steadily increasing our presence in India.

However, the country is yet to wake up to malt whisky. While 92 million cases of whisky were sold in India in 2008, a mere 35,000 cases of this was malt. The bright side of this is that it means there is huge potential for growth.

What is the major hurdle for growth? The taxation system on spirits is a major cause for concern at present. Foreign spirits are taxed between 200 and 500 per cent more than domestic counterparts here, differing from state-to-state. This is acting as a deterrent for buyers, who prefer to buy single malt abroad where it's far cheaper.

What sort of growth are you looking at and how do you propose to achieve this? We hope to see India reach this take-off stage by 2012. The company is not interested in ad blitzkriegs since the target audience is rather niche. Instead, the business plan is simple: to conduct several rounds of tasting sessions with both trade experts as well as connoisseurs across key metros to create awareness and spread the word about Glenmorangie.

NUMBERS OF NOTE

50%: The likely-increase in demand for diamond jewellery (Rs 29,300 crore) in India in 2010-11, compared to the current Rs 20,200-crore sales. The domestic jewellery market is pegged at Rs 76,800 crore, which includes gold, diamond, platinum and others.

6,800 tonnes: The amount of municipal solid waste produced by Delhi per day, while Mumbai generates 6,500 tonnes. These cities mostly dump the wastes in landfill sites, according to a survey carried out by FICCI in 22 cities.

Rs 22 cr: The amount of compensation paid to Britannia Industries by Danone Group for IPR infringement of the "Tiger brand.

2.5 mn: The number of "affluent households in India, according to a survey by AC Nielsen. Out of this, 2.2 million belong to the upper middle class segment. The rich has 0.2 million and the superrich 0.1 million households.

Reproduced From Business Today. Copyright 2009. LMIL. All rights reserved.

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