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Duty free liquor sales in Asia declined by -4.4% last year, according to The IWSR (International Wine and Spirits Record) – the first volume decline in any region since 2009.
The analyst reported that sales decreased in a number of key Asian markets last year including Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Malaysia.
Asia’s share of the global duty free spirits market also declined to 17.7%, while rapid growth in The Americas – with sales up by +4.2% – led to a market share of 19.7%.
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Johnnie Walker remained the biggest spirit in duty free despite a decline in sales |
The biggest regional market, Europe, achieved slow sales growth of +1.5% and an increase in market share to 54% – reversing its loss of market share in 2012. Eastern Europe and the Baltics were the fastest growing sub-region with a +9.7% increase in sales.
Sales in southern Europe were driven up +2% by a revival in tourism, while central Europe and the Balkans also grew by +2%. The Nordic and northwest Europe markets saw a slight drop in volumes.
Africa and the Middle East achieved a +3% increase in sales, driven by Middle Eastern expansion. Africa suffered the sharpest sales decline in 2013, down by -9.6% partly as a result of the recent tourism downturn as political turmoil hit Egypt.
Meanwhile The IWSR reported that Diageo’s Johnnie Walker weathered a -4.5% sales decline in 2013 to retain its status as the best-selling liquor brand in duty free. The decline was almost entirely driven by the shrinking Asian market.
Total volumes of liquor in duty free grew by +1.4% to 21.6 million nine-litre cases, of which the top 100 brands accounted for 85%.
Second-placed Absolut vodka (owned by Pernod Ricard) also lost sales in 2013 (-10.4%), primarily in the Americas. Meanwhile the two fastest-growing liquor brands in the top ten are both owned by Brown-Forman: third-placed Jack Daniel’s grew by +20.0%, overtaking Chivas Regal; and Finlandia grew by +10.0%, entering the top ten for the first time and pushing out Courvoisier.
