Whisky Focus - Work Begins To Increase The Glenlivet Distillery Capacity

The Glenlivet breaks ground for distillery expansion following a year of double digit growth.

The Glenlivet Distillery this week broke ground at the start of a new project to enhance the distillery's production facility's and increase capacity.

The expansion at the Speyside distillery which they tell me will significantly increase capacity reinforces The Glenlivet's recent success and will secure its position as the worlds best selling Scotch single malt whisky in the future.

The news follows a strong set of financial results for the year ending in June 2015 for Chivas Brothers, announced last week, with the Scotch whisky and premium gin business of Pernod Ricard recording overall growth in net sales of +3%.

The Glenlivet recorded the standout achievement for Chivas Brothers with +11% net sales growth, a result of the brand’s commitment to innovation and craftsmanship through launches such as Founder’s Reserve, the extension of the Master Distiller’s Reserve range and The Winchester Collection. The Glenlivet has successfully driven consumer recruitment and attracted Scotch connoisseurs to the brand, which has made it the largest contributor to the growth of the single malt category in the past five years (IWSR 2014).

Today’s announcement reinforces the brand’s recent unrivalled global success selling over 1 million cases1 to become the world’s No.1 single malt Scotch whisky brand. The Glenlivet is also spearheading growth for the entire Pernod Ricard Single Malt Scotch whisky portfolio, with the group’s range becoming the Global No. 1.2

Across other brands in the Chivas Brothers portfolio there were additional strong performances such as Ballantine’s Finest growing in an otherwise declining category.

The brand, No. 2 Scotch whisky worldwide, sold over six million cases in the year ending in June 2015 following an increase of +2% in net sales driven by Ballantine’s Finest. Ballantine’s prestige portfolio has retained its loyal consumer base through the launch of Ballantine’s Golf Club while millennial whisky drinkers have been recruited to Ballantine’s Finest through successful marketing campaigns including the brand’s partnership with Boiler Room.

Chivas Regal, the world’s first luxury whisky, maintained its position despite a slight decline in global sales of Scotch whisky in 20143, demonstrating the continued appeal of this iconic brand. The past twelve months saw the launch of The Venture and the introduction of two new luxury whiskies, Chivas Extra and Chivas Regal The Icon, into the award-winning portfolio.

Chivas Brothers continues to lead in the standard segment with Passport Scotch, which grew +20% in net sales to reach a record 1.7m cases in the year ending in June 2015. Passport has strong appeal among millennial consumers in emerging markets including Brazil, Angola and Mexico, which has helped to earn its position as the fastest growing of all spirits brands that sell more than 200,000 cases per year4.

Beefeater, the world’s most awarded gin, continued to capitalise on the global gin renaissance, growing by +3% in net sales in the year ending in June 2015. Led by strong growth of Beefeater London Dry, the brand has engaged with the on-trade community through the Beefeater MIXLDN Bartender Competition and has inspired consumers through activations including Beefeater London Sounds.

Laurent Lacassagne, Chairman & CEO of Chivas Brothers, commented: "Today’s first step towards an expansion at The Glenlivet distillery is an historic day for Chivas Brothers as we look to continue the brand’s phenomenal triumphs across the past five years to reinforce our position as the world’s No.1 single malt Scotch whisky.

"Success for The Glenlivet is not in isolation – we have reported growth of +3% in net sales for the Chivas Brothers range as a whole, supported by a strong performance across our wider single malt, premium and standard blended Scotch and English gin portfolios with Aberlour, Ballantine’s, Passport and Beefeater respectively. The overall performance of our comprehensive portfolio of Scotch whiskies in the context of the wider category, which declined slightly last year, has been robust and we are committed to investing into manufacturing facilities geared towards innovation to help us to capitalise on the current and long-term growth prospects of the category."
 

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