Market leader last year was Jack Daniel’s, made by Brown Forman and imported by Romanian-held BDG Import, followed by J&B, a brand imported by PPD Romania, the subsidiary of Cyprus-based Photos Photiades Distributors.
Jack Daniel’s sold 747,000 liters of whisky on the local market, the equivalent of more than one million 0.7 liter bottles, according to ZF calculations. The brand’s market share stood at 18%. On the other hand, J&B posted sales of more than 733,000 liters. J&B started narrowing the gap to the market leader in 2013 but has yet to take the top spot from Jack Daniel’s.
Third leading whisky brand by sales is Ballantine’s, of French-held Pernod Ricard group. Ballantine’s sold 660,000 liters last year, according to IWSR data.
Fourth and fifth best-selling whisky brands are Johnnie Walker (PPD Romania) and Teacher’s (imported by Cristalex).
The whisky market stands at about EUR80 million a year, according to ZF estimates, and makes most sales during the winter holidays.
Whisky consumption has been dwindling in the last few years. In 2012, it reached 4.4 million liters, while last year it reached 4 million.
The spirits market was hit by the overall consumption decline, partly due to the excise duty hike to EUR1,000 per liter of pure alcohol as of September 1, 2013. It returned to EUR750 so companies in the industry are seeing consumption pick up.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)