Allied Domecq Romania, one of the main players on the Romanian market of imported spirits, last year posted sales in excess of $10 million, up 31% since 2001. The company's general manager Tudor Furir says the ascending trend was fuelled by the main three whisky brands in the company's portfolio: Ballantine's Finest, Teacher's and Jack Daniel's.
"Ballantine's has especially confirmed its brand status as the main Allied Domecq brand, posting a 36% increase in the quantity of sales. The main reasons for growth: the Go Play promotion campaign and the tighter cooperation with partners such as Billa, Metro and Carrefour," Furir said.
Whisky sales account for about 70% of the turnover posted by Allied Domecq Romania, with the rest being divided among vodka (Finlandia), gin (Beefeater) and champagne (Mumm's Cordon Rouge).
"We have attained a more than 30% increase of the three main whisky brands in our portfolio, while the market has kept the same levels, somewhere around 1.23 million litres. In Romania, people still kind of aspire to whisky," Tudor Furir says.
The manager says Allied Domecq has changed the calculation method of the market share. "Since 2002, the market we take into account also includes the whisky bottled in Romania. Even under these circumstances, we are still leaders, with a 40% market share," Furir mentioned.
The Romanian market of imported whisky is dominated by four brands: Ballantine's and Teacher's are the best-selling whisky brands in Romania, followed by Johnnie Walker (imported by GFS, i.e.) and by Jack Daniel's, Furir says.
"The growth posted last year by brands such as Ballantine's and Teacher's makes me believe that a strong middle class is beginning to develop in Romania," Furir states.
As for the Romanian vodka market, Furir says the imported brands (Absolut Vodka, Smirnoff and Finlandia) only account for 2% of the 18 million litres.
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