The year 2012 was the year of fashionable beverages like vodka and rum, with Romanians shifting from the traditional brandy to more exotic products.
“2012 was a difficult year, marked by events that made a negative impact on the consumer sentiment. The year was comparable in volume and value with 2011 for the international alcoholic beverages,” said Tudor Furir, managing director of Pernod Ricard, a company that posted over EUR25 million revenue from import of Balantine’s Chivas Regal and Absolut last year.
“I think this category will see growth of up to 5% on last year.”
On the other hand, Petru Berciu, general manager of BDG Import, the largest spirits importer by sales in 2011 (EUR37.7 million), is more pessimistic and talking about a decline of the overall spirits market this year.
“From our estimates, the total spirits market will go down by about 2% this year compared with 2011. We are talking the total market here, which includes both local and imported products,” Berciu explained. He runs the importer of Jack Daniel’s, Bacardi and Jagermeister.
Romanians drank approximately 200 million liters of spirits last year, 0.4% fewer than in 2010, according to the data previously provided by market researcher International Wine and Spirit Research (IWSR). The analysts of the company expect 0.7% decline for the entire spirits market this year.
Vodka was the most popular of all the spirits this year, almost 24% of the total.
“Each category performed differently compared with 2011. Whisky was flat to down (depending on the brand), while vodka, rum, tequila and cognac grew,” said Razvan Ioan, chief commercial officer of Cristalex, which imports Teacher’s, Jim Beam, Cinzano, Campari and Skyy Vodka. The company posted almost EUR15 million revenue last year.
“We’ve budgeted a similar trend to the year that is about to end for 2013, as we expect certain categories (vodka, rum, tequila) to keep the positive trend,” Cristalex official said.
He did not say exactly how much he thought his company’s business would grow.
On the other hand, BDG Import’s representative said he expected two-digit growth in 2013 from an estimated EUR40 million in 2012.
“One of the major criteria we take into account when building the next year’s budget is the investments in our brands. This support and the trend of the imported alcoholic beverages makes us think we will see growth of at least 10% in our revenue next year,” Petru Berciu said.
Berciu does not think major changes will happen on the market in 2013 and that the trend varies from one category of beverages to another and from the local to the imported products market.
On the other hand, Furir says 2013 appears to be a complicated year. He hopes the excise duties on alcoholic beverages will not increase and that the tax collection will improve and the state budget will be spent efficiently.
“Overall, I don’t think we can expect significant growth for the market of international spirits in 2013. To Pernod Ricard, 2013 will be a year when we have to consolidate our position on the market. We will continue to invest in priority brands: Ballantine’s Finest, Chivas Regal and Absolut,” Furir added.
The revenue of the largest four importers of spirits amounts to about EUR100 million. On the other hand, the vodka and brandy made by Romanian companies are gaining popularity on the local market.
The leading local producers on the alcoholic beverages market are Alexandrion, Prodal ’94 and Scandic Distilleries, which compete with importers like BDG Impex, Cristalex, Pernod Ricard and PP Distributors.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)