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“We are outperforming passenger growth and the rest of the market“ |
Andrew Carter Managing Director Bacardi Global Travel Retail |
INTERNATIONAL. Bacardi Global Travel Retail Division is maintaining its thrust to double sales in five years – a commitment given in 2009 – with a programme of partnerships with retailers, promotions and product innovation.
Speaking to The Moodie Report at TFWA World Exhibition, the division’s Managing Director Andrew Carter said: “The global travel retail business is up by +17% year-to-date on volume and +24% on value, so we are outperforming passenger growth and the rest of the market. But most importantly we are creating wealth for the business and for retailers.
“Our ambition remains to double the business in five years, and we will do that. The latest repackaging of Bacardi (see below) will give that a thrust, Grey Goose is an express train, plus we have enough innovation in whisky and gin and in Martini to drive that.
“Of course we need a good prevailing wind in terms of the environment and travel numbers, we need to push ahead to drive penetration as an industry, and we have to work with the airports and the retailers in Trinity-style partnerships. There has to be more flexibility in how we work with the brands both in and out of the stores. The pace needs to quicken.
“The other challenge is in maximising the growth of Asia. We have to look at how we work across Chinese airports, and as passengers grow at this huge rate, we need to gear up as an organisation to help our Chinese partners educate the Chinese passengers, and that will unlock the potential there. In India, at Delhi T3 we were first brand to promote there on day one when it opened, and that’s a huge opportunity.”
Carter called on retailers to take a more balanced, long-term view of the business, though he accepted that this is no easy task for many with monthly guarantee targets to hit.
“The mindset has to be one of looking to grow the overall business rather than simply about 12-month performance, difficult though that can be,” he said. “Now is the time to plan ahead for the next five years, when the performance is great, because you have the opportunity.
“From an airport point of view, we need to ask how we can establish the three-way conversations, with the airports and retailers, going beyond lip service and actually putting partnerships in place.
And another challenge is how we use the digital space to improve our communication with consumers to drive penetration and purchase and customer understanding of our brands. That will be one of the magic ingredients for the future of the business.”
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The Bacardi portfolio has posted strong double-digit growth in 2010 to date |
Brand innovation
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The Grey Goose brand is proving a powerhouse performer in travel retail |
Bacardi: The flagship brand is set to reveal a new look backed by new advertising promotions in 2011. Year-to-date volumes have grown by +17% in global travel retail, with activity around Bacardi Mojito a key recent factor.
Carter said: “Bacardi Mojito has developed incredible conversion rates from the 250,000 or so tastings we have done with consumers, converting up to 40% to purchase depending on the part of the world, so it’s been a footfall and purchase driver for the brand.
“That is supplemented that with the ready to serve range – Bacardi Mojito in a bottle. When we launched it first as a convenience purchase, we weren’t sure about it, but we are getting many holidaymakers on their way to southern Europe buying it as an easy proposition. It’s proved a terrific success.”
Carter described Grey Goose as the “hottest brand in travel retail” today, with volumes rising by close to +45% year-to-date in the channel.
“It’s a brand that has transformed white spirits,” he said. “Now the retailers are seeing an opportunity to not only drive the super-premium business in vodka but also to category-manage the whole fixture. It’s a very strong proposition, and at a premium price point.
“We’re just about to launch a new advertising campaign, which will expand across Europe and into Asia and travel retail is at the forefront of driving that.
“There’s a huge tradition of brown spirits in Asia. We are turning the clock forward and believe we’ll be talking some pretty substantial numbers in Asia from white spirits in future, with Grey Goose leading the charge.”
Bombay Sapphire volumes have surged in the channel by +19% so far in 2010. “Bombay helped transform the category originally and the challenge now is to bring innovation,” noted Carter. “We will take the brand further in terms of super-premium, and bring it to the next level.
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“We are turning the clock forward and believe we’ll be talking some pretty substantial numbers in Asia from white spirits in future“ |
Andrew Carter Managing Director Bacardi Global Travel Retail |
“We now have a new idea for the brand around sampling on the Bombay Collins. We have undertaken a lot of sampling on the brand, and that’s important – although it’s become iconic, we still need to tell people what it stands for.
“We’ll back that up with a range of digital promotions, interactivity at the point of purchase, and we’re exploring with retailers how we can make this interactivity into a mechanic to incentivise purchase. People are so hungry for information, especially in Asia for example, and that’s something we want to talk more about.”
Dewar’s is receiving good investment in the channel, and remains a “challenger” brand faced with the might of Johnnie Walker and Chivas Regal.
For 2011 there will be two focuses, noted Carter. “One is around Tommy Dewar the travelling entrepreneur, with a key theme and travel promotion. Second, we know when we blind taste that Dewar’s performs exceptionally well, so we will emphasise this.”
Martini is the core brand from the portfolio that “everyone underestimates,” said Carter. “It’s the number three wines & spirits brands globally, and number one in Europe.”
The recent partnership with Dolce & Gabbana – Martini Gold – is now available at key European hubs. “The D&G version sells at around €22-23 whereas the average is €9 per bottle for Martini so we’re driving a lot of new value into the business, and that interests retailers greatly,” noted Carter.
“Within Martini we’ve also got a great number of sparkling wines and we have done very little to date with them. So we are trying to understand the opportunity there, and we will see more growth from that business.”
