Johnnie Walker has topped the IWSR’s 2013 World Class Brands rankings list, with the Diageo brand edging out LVMH-owned Hennessy, based on 2012 volume and value data. Jack Daniel’s (Brown-Forman), Jameson and Martell (both Pernod Ricard) came next in the rankings.
Strong growth in a number of markets around the world saw Johnnie Walker increase sales by 1m cases over the year to reach 18m cases in total. Sales in the travel retail channel and on domestic markets in Mexico, Poland, the US, South Africa and Thailand each increased by 100,000 cases last year.
Click on the above to view the enlarged image (then hover over graphs with your cursor and click for full detail) |
IWSR said Hennessy’s second-ranking position was aided by its high price per case, although the brand also had a strong growth year in 2012. A record year in China and a return to growth in the US – the two countries which now contribute a 63% share of brand sales – saw it add over 250,000 cases.
Jack Daniel’s saw volume gains, with strong growth in the US and increasing interest in the brand’s flavour extensions bringing total volumes to 12.2m cases in 2012. It also experienced strong sales in a number of its key global markets, such as Germany (+13.9%), France (+11.8%) and Australia (+15.7), as well as in smaller markets such as Poland and Brazil.
The IWSR noted the “remarkable success” Brown-Forman has also enjoyed with its flavoured Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey extension, which it said had succeeded in recruiting non-traditional consumers – including women – into the franchise.
Overall, Diageo has the largest number of World Class Brands, with 28, including four in the top 10 (Johnnie Walker, Cîroc, Buchanan’s and Captain Morgan). The total tally includes four brands from the recently-acquired United Spirits India.
Pernod Ricard has 18 entrants and three in the top 10 (Jameson, Martell and Absolut), while Beam Inc. has 11 brands in the list, including its flagship Jim Beam at number nine. Bacardi follows with nine brands and Campari with seven.
Scotch whisky has the largest representation among liquor categories, with 37 entrants. Vodka is next with 25 brands, followed by liqueurs at 18, rum with 13 and non-Cognac brandy with five.
An international presence is the initial criteria for inclusion in the World Class Brands list. Inclusion requires at least 20,000 nine-litre cases to be sold in at least three different regions (due to its international nature, duty free counts as one region).
A total of 135 brands qualified as international brands using this criterion, with the IWSR then scoring each of these brands on its overall market volume in 2012, average price per case and volume growth over the last year.