Diageo has announced that the US-based Impact Databank’s Top 100 ranking shows that Diageo retained eight spirit brands among the top 20 premium spirits brands in the world by volume, and seven in the top 20 spirits brands by value – more than any other drinks company.

Scotch continued to be an industry leader with Johnnie Walker ranked as the number one spirit in the world by value, with a retail value of approximately $4.705bn, which is nearly three times greater than its closest Scotch competitor on the list. Johnnie Walker is also the number three premium spirit by volume, with an estimated 16m nine-litre equivalent cases sold in calendar 2010. 

In its statement, Diageo said: Scotch Whisky continues to enjoy significant growth in both developed and emerging markets representing 20% of the top 100 brands on the value list in the Impact Databank ranking. 

$1.1BN INCREASE LAST YEAR
“The category grew by over $1.1 billion last year and top selling brands in the category outpaced the value growth of the top vodkas in 2010 reversing a trend that had favoured the white spirit in recent years (Source: Impact Databank, 15 March 2011).”

Diageo says that its Scotch Whisky brands now hold five of the top 19 Scotch brands on the Impact Top 100 Value list including: Johnnie Walker, J&B, Bell’s, Buchanan’s and Windsor. 

David Gates, Global Category Director, Whiskies, Diageo said: “We’re proud of our Scotch portfolio and that Johnnie Walker once again is the number one brand by value according to Impact Databank. Scotch Whisky is an important category for Diageo, specifically Johnnie Walker, which contributed over a third of Diageo’s organic net sales growth in our first half, driven by emerging markets.

“We’re excited to continue our investment in the brand both from a supply standpoint and through dynamic marketing in order to see the growth in volume and value continue.”

MARKET SHARE GAINS
In the six months ended 31 December 2010, Diageo reported share gains in some Latin American and Asian markets including Mexico and China. Johnnie Walker was the key driver of this Scotch performance, posting 11% volume and 10% net sales growth on an organic basis in the first half. 

This was primarily driven by strong sales in the super deluxe variants, such as Johnnie Walker Blue Label, and Johnnie Walker Black Label performed well as consumers began to trade back up. 

Last year Johnnie Walker continued its ‘Walk with Giants’ digital campaign across the majority of global markets with a series of audio recordings of ‘walks’ with Giants in their respecting fields, offering exclusive online content by Johnnie Walker. 

The company added that increased marketing investment led to organic net sales growth and share gains in many key markets such as Global Travel, Mexico and China. The roll out of Johnnie Walker Double Black in most duty free shops helped contribute to the continued strong performance of Diageo’s International market.