INDIA. The India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), India’s dominant duty free retailer, says it has resolved an earlier dispute with drinks giant Diageo over unpaid goods that had threatened supplies of the leading Scotch whisky Johnnie Walker.
Earlier the ITDC threatened to introduce an open tender process for duty free purchasing if it does not receive what it considers fair treatment from suppliers. This applied particularly to liquor and fragrances but also to the tobacco category. An internal investigation by ITDC into pricing led to the retailer freezing payment on a previous order of 17 containers from Diageo.
The ITDC had claimed that its buying prices from manufacturers were unfair and that on Johnnie Walker Black Label, which represents around 10% of sales, it was losing money on every bottle.
Today, however, it was claimed that a settlement with Diageo has been reached over the frozen payment and that positive negotiations are taking place over future pricing. “All is well,” an ITDC source said. “If there’s anything we owe them we will pay them.
“It’s a first step and negotiations are continuing,” he said.
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