NEW DELHI: India could within a decade become the biggest market for Scotland’s Glenmorangie, the world’s fourth biggest single malt maker. While Indian single malts are doing exceedingly well, the impending India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) is expected to bring down tariffs making premium brands more affordable, Caspar MacRae, The Glenmorangie Company president & CEO told TOI.
“We are about 6.5 lakh cases a year brand. Our top three markets are the US, UK and India. Single malt market in India is growing at 40% annually and we are growing in strong double digits. With a middle class of 90 crore people, India could be our top market by volume in the next 5-10 years. It’s a realistic expectation as India has an appetite for really high quality spirits,” MacRae said.
“Our interest and passion of working with the Indian team and for the Indian consumer isn’t dependent on FTA. At present, there’s a 150% tariff on Scotch whiskey coming into India. So automatically, the price of every bottle coming here more than doubles before it can go into the distribution channels. If that FTA is in place, it’ll mean that all aspects of the consumer experience can be improved (and) there is opportunity to reduce price as well. Having better choice and more accessible price points would benefit consumers and allow us to compete on a more level footing in the market,” he said.
Indian single malts have been doing exceedingly well. Does he feel threatened by their emergence? “Overall, it’s really good we are seeing single malt categories around the world. Rampur, Indri, Amrut are building a vibrant and viable Indian single malt scene. What we are seeing here now happened 30 years ago in Japan, Australia and emerging in America,” MacRae said, adding “the strengths of the more the merrier approach outweigh the disadvantages of increased competition.”
Lower tariffs will also enable Indians to treat high end whiskeys and wine as an investment class. “It’s hard for us to invest with (high) tariff levels. Lower tariffs will enable us to do that and also give us an opportunity for us to offer more. Whiskey is the most collectible and valuable spirits category in the world.”
“We are about 6.5 lakh cases a year brand. Our top three markets are the US, UK and India. Single malt market in India is growing at 40% annually and we are growing in strong double digits. With a middle class of 90 crore people, India could be our top market by volume in the next 5-10 years. It’s a realistic expectation as India has an appetite for really high quality spirits,” MacRae said.
“Our interest and passion of working with the Indian team and for the Indian consumer isn’t dependent on FTA. At present, there’s a 150% tariff on Scotch whiskey coming into India. So automatically, the price of every bottle coming here more than doubles before it can go into the distribution channels. If that FTA is in place, it’ll mean that all aspects of the consumer experience can be improved (and) there is opportunity to reduce price as well. Having better choice and more accessible price points would benefit consumers and allow us to compete on a more level footing in the market,” he said.
Indian single malts have been doing exceedingly well. Does he feel threatened by their emergence? “Overall, it’s really good we are seeing single malt categories around the world. Rampur, Indri, Amrut are building a vibrant and viable Indian single malt scene. What we are seeing here now happened 30 years ago in Japan, Australia and emerging in America,” MacRae said, adding “the strengths of the more the merrier approach outweigh the disadvantages of increased competition.”
Lower tariffs will also enable Indians to treat high end whiskeys and wine as an investment class. “It’s hard for us to invest with (high) tariff levels. Lower tariffs will enable us to do that and also give us an opportunity for us to offer more. Whiskey is the most collectible and valuable spirits category in the world.”
We also published the following articles recently
Maserati expands in India, banks on India-EU FTA talks
Maserati decided to expand in India, targeting high-net-worth individuals and entrepreneurs. The company launched the Grecale SUV priced between Rs 1.3 crore and Rs 2 crore, with plans to expand dealerships to Delhi and Bangalore. Maserati expects the India-EU FTA talks to potentially lower import duties, aiding market growth.
Maserati decided to expand in India, targeting high-net-worth individuals and entrepreneurs. The company launched the Grecale SUV priced between Rs 1.3 crore and Rs 2 crore, with plans to expand dealerships to Delhi and Bangalore. Maserati expects the India-EU FTA talks to potentially lower import duties, aiding market growth.
State taxes on minerals may hike power tariff, skew market reforms
The Supreme Court’s decision allowing states to tax minerals could raise power tariffs, increasing costs for coal producers who will pass these onto energy generation firms. This could lead to higher electricity prices for consumers. If applied retrospectively, the new taxes might seriously affect coal companies’ competitiveness amid already high taxes and levies.
The Supreme Court’s decision allowing states to tax minerals could raise power tariffs, increasing costs for coal producers who will pass these onto energy generation firms. This could lead to higher electricity prices for consumers. If applied retrospectively, the new taxes might seriously affect coal companies’ competitiveness amid already high taxes and levies.
#Glenmorangie #eyes #India #top #market #years #Delhi #News #Times #India
