India CEO Jean Touboul
NEW DELHI: India has emerged as the biggest volume-grosser for French spirits giant Pernod Ricard, led by strong sales of local whisky brands such as Royal Stag, Blenders Pride and 100 Pipers, as well as its premium portfolio of products like Chivas Regal, Jameson and Glenlivet.And not just in volumes, India has also scored strongly in value as it has edged past China to emerge as the second-largest market for Pernod globally, behind only the US, led by the rapid premiumisation in the market. The company expects demand to stay strong in the market which is now contributing as much as 13% to its overall global revenues, India CEO Jean Touboul told TOI as the company launched a new locally-made mainstream brand — Xclamat!on — which will have whisky, vodka, gin, brandy and rum under its fold. “It is the fastest growing (market) for sure. And the one which has the best growth perspective for years to come — I mean for the mid- and long-term. The tailwinds that we are observing in India are structural. So, it’s about the demographic dividend as we like to call it.”The company closed fiscal FY25 (ending June 30) at overall volumes of 67.4 million cases, overtaking the US and China. In value terms, the company has crossed Rs 27,000 crore in revenues in FY25 (ending March 31). Asked about legal cases in Delhi and restrictions on sale in Delhi, he said, “We remain confident in the strength of our legal position and look forward to resume operations in Delhi at the earliest.”Touboul, under whom Pernod also surpassed Diageo to become the biggest spirits company in India, said a younger population is aiding demand. “Population is young. And so we have every year approximately 20 million of new legal drinking age people. So, it’s 20 million of potential new consumers. Of course, not all of them will choose to drink, or drink our brand. But we are here to propose good offers for them to come in.” Also, the growth in the Indian economy has been fuelling demand as well as disposable incomes. “This is something that is working in favour of our strategy of premiumisation. We cater to the higher end of the market. So, when people have a growing revenue (income), they aspire to consume better products.” He said unlike India, the Chinese market is in a “difficult situation” from the macroeconomic standpoint. Not only that, India’s size is now bigger than the earnings from the ‘global travel retail’ category that Pernod makes across brands. Touboul said he sees India emerging as the top revenue market for Pernod globally in the coming years. “In all logic, we will be a number one market for Pernod at some stage. Is it in two, five, or ten years? I don’t know. It also depends how fast the US will grow.” Asked about the growth rates in India, Touboul said it has been a sustained momentum. “So, we have seen a high single-digit (growth) in the last five years. And that’s where we think we can continue to be. Probably going towards double-digit growth over the next few years.”
