SAR category approach to whisky sees sales soar after less than 12 months

By Caroline Sargent |

Schiphol Airport Retail and William Grant & Sons are reportedly ‘delighted’ by the results of their new category approach to whisky which has seen single malt sales grow 33.8% in a test store at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.

 

Working in collaboration with William Grant & Sons, SAR refurbished the South Store, Lounge 1 in December 2013 (pictured right) with the intention of growing total whisky category sales by 4% and increasing the average spend per bottle.

 

The results less than a year later have beaten all expectations: the first half of 2014 saw total category growth of 10.4% with an ‘incredible’ 33.8% increase in sales from the high value single malt sector, leading to an average spend per bottle increase of 21.4%.

 

Schiphol Airport Retail Director Peter-Jan Rozenberg says, “The joint category management project with William Grant & Sons has delivered a lot of shopper and category insights that have helped us to unlock sales in this high value category. That has resulted in improved ease-of-shop for our customers and has had a substantial impact on our 2014 performance. With this project we created the cornerstone of our category management for malt whisky; it is now our standard to be implemented in the other stores. It’s fantastic to join forces with business partners like William Grant & Sons to drive our mutual business a step further.”

 

William Grant & Sons have highlighted category management as a key pillar for their continued success in global travel retail.

 

New Managing Director GTR, Justin Weston says, “With Glenfiddich, The Balvenie and Kininvie we have a leading position within single malts. This is a critical and fast growing, high value category. To ensure long term growth we need to develop category management solutions that help to grow the entire category, not just our brands.

 

“These solutions must be shopper and consumer focused and help passengers navigate easily and effectively through what can be a complex and confusing assortment. This will mean working closely with operators, just as we have done at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, to secure a fair share of space for single malts and other whiskies in store. When this is done well we can help increase average spend per head and generate more profit for both ourselves and our partners.”

 

Commenting on the in-store strategy, William Grant and Sons Director GTR Europe, Andre de Almeida adds, “The new store layout saw us increase the dedicated space for whiskies and expand the range to cover the full spectrum available. It created a premium environment for the shopper and importantly offered triggers to purchase for reasons other than simply price.

 

“The project demonstrates that category initiatives can work and can deliver ongoing incremental sales. I have to thank Peter-Jan and his team for being so open and willing to take on new ideas. We have built a great platform and I look forward to watching the project evolve and roll out across the airport.”

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