Irish Distillers has revealed strong growth across its portfolio and its best ever month for sales in the second half of 2019.
The group, based in Midleton, Co Cork, said it recorded the single largest sales month in its history in December 2019, shifting 940,000 cases. Sales of Jameson hit 4.6 million cases in the six months to 31 December, up nine per cent year-on-year, with a record-breaking two million cases sold in the US.
Existing Jameson markets with significant growth in the half-year included Germany, where sales were up 34 per cent, Russia, which saw 14 per cent growth, and Canada, where sales grew by 13 per cent. Key emerging markets for Jameson saw 37 per cent growth, buoyed by the likes of Nigeria (up 185 per cent), China (up 76 per cent) and India (up 47 per cent). The group said its travel retail sales grew 7 per cent, supported by the successful launch of Jameson Triple Triple in July 2019.
Its Method and Madness range had a strong start to the 2019/20 year with sales up 81 per cent to date, including growth of 57 per cent and 55 per cent in the UK and Ireland respectively. Sales of single pot whiskeys were also up, led by Redbreast, which saw a 24 per cent increase in sales including 27 per cent growth in the US.
Conor McQuaid, chairman and CEO of Irish Distillers, said: "In 1996 we sold one million cases of Jameson for the first time, in 2010 we cracked three million and today we are celebrating the eight million case mark. Jameson has been driving the growth of the Irish whiskey category for the past 30 years, and as these results show, it continues to thrive. We are incredibly proud of this growth.”
He added: “Our brand homes in Bow Street in Dublin and Midleton in Cork continue to thrive, with visitor numbers reaching almost half a million in 2019."
The group, based in Midleton, Co Cork, said it recorded the single largest sales month in its history in December 2019, shifting 940,000 cases. Sales of Jameson hit 4.6 million cases in the six months to 31 December, up nine per cent year-on-year, with a record-breaking two million cases sold in the US.
Existing Jameson markets with significant growth in the half-year included Germany, where sales were up 34 per cent, Russia, which saw 14 per cent growth, and Canada, where sales grew by 13 per cent. Key emerging markets for Jameson saw 37 per cent growth, buoyed by the likes of Nigeria (up 185 per cent), China (up 76 per cent) and India (up 47 per cent). The group said its travel retail sales grew 7 per cent, supported by the successful launch of Jameson Triple Triple in July 2019.
Its Method and Madness range had a strong start to the 2019/20 year with sales up 81 per cent to date, including growth of 57 per cent and 55 per cent in the UK and Ireland respectively. Sales of single pot whiskeys were also up, led by Redbreast, which saw a 24 per cent increase in sales including 27 per cent growth in the US.
Conor McQuaid, chairman and CEO of Irish Distillers, said: "In 1996 we sold one million cases of Jameson for the first time, in 2010 we cracked three million and today we are celebrating the eight million case mark. Jameson has been driving the growth of the Irish whiskey category for the past 30 years, and as these results show, it continues to thrive. We are incredibly proud of this growth.”
He added: “Our brand homes in Bow Street in Dublin and Midleton in Cork continue to thrive, with visitor numbers reaching almost half a million in 2019."
