William Grant & Sons UK has officially welcomed Drambuie into its portfolio. The brand was acquired by Wm Grant & Sons in 2014, but its distribution stayed with Bacardi Brown-Forman in the interim.
Rita Greenwood, Managing Director of William Grant & Sons UK and Ireland, comments,“Liqueurs is a dynamic category within the premium spirits market, growing by £12.5 million last year, and since Drambuie is such a unique liquid, we are thrilled to announce it has joined our portfolio. One of our ambitions is to grow our quality spirits offering within the market, and with 7.6 million liqueur drinkers in the UK, Drambuie is an excellent fit that complements our existing portfolio and will support our growth strategy both in the on and off trade going forward.”
William Grant & Sons UK revitalised the Drambuie brand in late 2016 with a new identity and bottle design to truly reflect the brand’s roots. The new design sees the iconic Drambuie red cork cap reintroduced, and features the brand’s refreshed logo based on the design from the 1960’s, embossed on textured cream stock with gold foiling.
Plans for revitalizing the brand continue in 2017, with William Grant & Sons’ mission of recruiting a new generation of Drambuie drinkers. Along with the new serve strategy for the ‘Drambuie Collins’ and the new bottle design, the company plans to continue with ‘Brass and Crimson’ – a campaign celebrating Drambuie’s history with music through a series of events up and down the country.
William Grant & Sons existing portfolio includes Glenfiddich and The Balvenie single malt Scotch whiskies, Monkey Shoulder, Grant’s, Tullamore D.E.W. Irish whiskey, Hendrick’s gin and Sailor Jerry spiced rum.
Independent family distillers, William Grant & Sons has revealed record profits (after tax) of £147.4m, an increase of 8.9% year on year, driven say the company by “strong volume and value growth across its core portfolio of premium spirit brands.”
The Group continued to focus on its core portfolio and saw particularly strong value growth from Glenfiddich. Its volume growth increased 5% year on year. Hendrick’s gin continued to grow rapidly across the world and Monkey Shoulder became the Company’s 8th core brand.
The company also reduced its dependence of third party agency brands. This strategic shift resulted in reported turnover increasing from £832.7m to £882.5m, an increase of 6.1%.
Simon Hunt, William Grant & Sons Chief Executive, said, “This success was driven by our constant focus on building brands and investing in them for the long term. We have also continued to invest in our operational capabilities and our route to market infrastructure. It has been a challenging market place but we are well positioned to continue our growth in 2016 and beyond.”
Record profit was delivered despite challenging conditions in terms of increased volatility across Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the adverse impact of foreign exchange and increased competition. However, demand for super premium spirits, particularly in the USA and Asia remained robust where the markets remained buoyant.
William Grant & Sons http://www.williamgrant.com was again awarded the highly prestigious Scotch Whisky Producer of the Year trophy at the International Spirits Challenge (ISC) and was lauded for “continuing to prove itself a leader in the Scotch category.”
The company also reported that the 2015 financial statements have, for the first time, been prepared using the new UK Accounting Standard FRS102. The 2014 comparative figures contained in the 2015 financial statements have been recalculated using FRS102 and are therefore different from the figures presented in the 2014 financial statements. The reported turnover and profit of £933.2m and £139.8m respectively, as shown in the 2014 financial statements, were therefore recalculated to £832.7m and £135.3m respectively to comply with this new standard
Monkey Shoulder has announced the launch of its first national bartender competition, The Ultimate Bartender Challenge. The brand has moved away from the traditional competition format to ensure The Ultimate Bartender Challenge is open to bartenders at all levels in a fun, interactive arrangement. The competition is led by the new Monkey Shoulder UK brand ambassador, Grant Neave and kicks off with a Twitter pub quiz @MnkyShldrUK. Bar teams that enter will be sent a series of six simple questions. The winning teams will be put through their paces at regional finals and a Festival Play Off at Wilderness Festival in August. The two finalists then battle it out, one bar vs. another in ‘The Grand Bar-Off’, held in London on 18th September. The Ultimate Bartender Challenge will be supported and promoted through PR, social media and the First Drinks on-trade team.