Pernod taps Chinese thirst for top spirits

Pernod Ricard, the world’s second-largest spirits company by revenues, is looking to ramp up sales of cognac, whisky and vodka in China and the US as greater austerity has slowed demand in Europe, the company’s chief executive told the Financial Times. 

Pierre Pringuet, Pernod’s chief executive, said that the growing wealth of Chinese consumers has created a new thirst for its Martell cognac and Chivas Regal whisky and that the company, which recently acquired Absolut, is working on a plan to push its vodka brand there. 

“China is definitely a very attractive market because of the growth of the country and the fact that there is an emerging middle class, which has a strong appetite for international brands,” he said in an interview last week.

China is the French company’s second-biggest market after the US, accounting for nearly 10 per cent of its annual sales. Pernod is the leading foreign spirits company in China, accounting for 44 per cent of its imported spirits volume. 

In the second half of 2010, Pernod’s profits in Asia rose 39 per cent year-on-year, while those in the Americas grew 12 per cent and profits in Europe were up 4 per cent. But the US remains Pernod’s most lucrative market and it is looking to become the “undisputed challenger” to Diageo.