William Grant Whisky to flow into India -- Bacardi to undertake marketing, distribution  ( January '19,2001, HBL)

CONNOISSEURS of liquor have something to look out for. Glenfiddich single malt Scotch Whisky and William Grant's blended Scotch whisky will soon be officially available on Indian shelves. 4The UK-based William Grant & Sons International has entered into a distribution and marketing arrangement with Bacardi-Martini India Ltd. Under the arrangement, Bacardi-Martini will undertake all marketing- and distribution-related activities for Glenfiddich single malt whisky and William Grant's blended Scotch whisky.

Explaining the reasons why William Grant & Sons chose Bacardi-Martini India for distributing and marketing its brands, Mr Tony Hunt, the company's Managing Director, said, ``We intend to build brands in India and not just ship boxes. We feel that Bacardi-Martini is committed to long-term brand-building in India.'' The arrangement between William Grant & Sons and Bacardi has not been stipulated for any specific time period. ``We anticipate a very long-term arrangement with Bacardi-Martini. But technically, we have decided to review the contract every three years,'' Mr Hunt said. India will not be the first country the two family-owned companies will work together. Similar arrangements exist in other countries like France and Sweden.

Mr Patrick Thomas, Group Managing Director, William Grant & Sons, ruled out the possibility of the company entering India through independent operations. ``It is a wiser approach to come in through Bacardi. The Indian market is a challenge -- we need to discover the country. We have no plans to set up our own operations here.'' As things stand today, Bacardi-Martini's Indian portfolio is restricted to the Carta Blanca and Reserva brands of rum in India. But the company could bring in its whisky brands at a later stage. But will that create complications, if two whisky brands had to be marketed and distributed by the same company? According to Mr Hunt, the question would not arise.

``Each of the brands has a specific positioning. We are confident that Bacardi can market a range of brands without conflict,'' he said. The Indian malt whisky market is estimated at 15,000 cases, Mr Thomas said. ``India is an emerging market for malt whisky. But being a predominantly brown spirits market, could be anywhere between five and 10 times larger than what it is today, within three-five years. Today, India is the only market where Glenfiddich does not have a big share,'' Mr Thomas said.

For its two brands, however, the officials did not specify sales targets. ``The idea is to build the market properly, not quickly,'' Mr Thomas said. Brand-building exercises for Glenfiddich and William Grant's will include testing and sampling at select outlets, aimed at ``opinion-makers and connoisseurs of whisky''. On the distribution front, Mr Hunt said, ``Rather than aiming for numbers, we want the trade to understand what is on their shelves first.''