French spirits maker Pernod Ricard anticipates a double-digit growth from the Indian market in the upcoming fiscal year, driven by the premiumisation trend, according to Jean Touboul, CEO of Pernod Ricard India. He further highlighted the company’s ongoing innovation in its portfolio and investment in the Indian market, which ranks second globally after the US.
Pernod Ricard, which operates on a July to June fiscal year basis, recorded a 4 per cent growth from India in the first half of 2024. Touboul stated this figure was “lower than its typical long-term growth.”
He further mentioned that the company anticipates a gradual return of positive growth, with the second half expected to be “robust.” As a result, they anticipate concluding FY24 with high single-digit growth. “What we expect for the full fiscal year is to be in the high single-digit growth, which means very robust growth for the second part of the year… a low double digit-growth for Pernod Ricard in India,” Touboul told the news agency PTI.
Pernod Ricard is also making efforts to re-enter the Delhi market after the local government declined to renew its liquor sales license last year.
“Yeah, we are working on it. There is no particular announcement to make on that yet, but we continue to cooperate with authorities to get our license back as soon as possible and resume our business in Delhi,” he said.
Talking about the brand’s growth in the Indian market, he said the growth would primarily be driven by the whiskey segment, which is experiencing premiumisation.
“We will play a key role in this growth because India is still a market where whisky is predominant… When we talk about price segments, this will be a continuation of our premiumisation story,” he said, adding, “The higher the price points, the faster the growth.”
In addition, Pernod Ricard is also optimistic about the signing of the India-UK Free Trade Agreement, ‘We see that a favourable outcome will help to accelerate the premiumisation… a win-win situation where a consumer goes to a better product, the state makes more revenue because the higher-end will grow faster and obviously we would be part of the beneficiary of such an agreement,” he said.
ALSO READ | Stock Market Pares Gains: Sensex, Nifty End Flat. PSU Bank Dips 1.5 Per Cent
