In
high spirits
AKMA
Shamsuddin reveals the quality management techniques adopted by Shaw
Wallace and its plans for revamping the product portfolio
The
alcoholic beverage industry in India is busy refurnishing its existing
portfolio and introducing new innovative products. Undoubtedly, Shaw
Wallace, one of the leading alcoholic beverage company in the country,
intends capitalising on the emerging opportunities in the segment of
scotch and other international alcohol flavours in India. The company
recently tied up with the Kyndal India and launched the international
vodka brand, Vladivar from the Kyndal’s stable, in the country.
Shaw Wallace is now in the process of introducing Absolut Vodka, one
of the most renowned and respected vodka brands worldwide. Besides expanding
the product portfolio, the move is aimed to impart a youthful, vibrant
and international image to the company.
In the year 2003-04, Shaw Wallace achieved phenomenal growth in most
of the segments. Its brand, White Mischief, accounts for 36 per cent
share of the prestigious vodka market in India and is growing at an
annual growth rate of 35 per cent. The company’s Antiquity Rare
Premium Whisky leads with 85 per cent market share in the segment.
Brandy accounts for approximately 35 per cent of the total liquor sales
in South India.
John ExShaw brandy (deluxe segment) and Golconda brandy (regular segment)
are leading brands in their respective segments.
The two brands account for 20 per cent of the total brandy sales in
southern markets.
French VSOP brandy, which was recently introduced in the premium brandy
segment, has garnered a market share of 40 per cent in the segment already.
Royal Challenge Whisky created history by becoming one of the first
premium whisky brands in India to touch sales of one million cases.
The product accounts for 65 per cent market share in the premium whisky
segment in India. Royal Challenge is Shaw Wallace’s sixth brand
to enter the hall of fame as a millionaire brand. In fact, it touched
the million case mark despite the launch of a number of brands by multinational
companies, which are positioned directly against the product. Shaw Wallace
has a millionaire brand in all the brown spirits segments and these
include Director’s Special Whisky, Haywards Fine Whisky, Old Tavern
Whisky, Old Adventurer Rum and John ExShaw Brandy.
To further boost the profitability of the liquor business, the company
initiated a set of measures last year. These include reassessment of
the money spent on the marketing and promotional activities for its
various brands, achieving low costs of operation and capitalising on
new market opportunities. Accordingly, in the last financial year, 2003-04,
the company achieved a revenue growth of 20 per cent. Moreover, the
profit before tax was reportedly 2.5 times higher than the previous
year.
VM Chhabria, Chairperson, Shaw Wallace has outlined a vision statement
that entails emerging as India’s most profitable liquor company
by doubling its current revenues and tripling its profits within the
next three years.
A multi-pronged effort is being made by the company to achieve low cost
manufacturing and purchase operations.
Reducing wastage as a cost saving measure has assumed increased importance
for the company in the recent years. For the improvement of line efficiency,
the number of cases produced per line per day is also being closely
tracked.
Shaw Wallace has invested in setting up a state-of-the-art technical
centre at Maharashtra Distilleries. Some of the activities undertaken
here include standardising and monitoring raw material and blends for
product consistency, development of new blends, malt maturation and
analysing or assessing of new products introduced in the market. For
cost cutting and increasing efficiency, the plant set up at Maharashtra
Distilleries is also converting molasses to extra neutral alcohol (ENA).
Shaw Wallace has also undertaken an ambitious drive to upgrade the packaging
of its major brands to impart a contemporary and sleek look, in line
with the international trends. The brands that recently went through
a makeover include Antiquity Rare Premium Whisky, Royal Challenge Whisky,
Director’s Special Whisky, Old Tavern Whisky, Golconda Brandy,
John Exshaw Brandy, Director’s Special Black Whisky and VSOP Exshaw
Brandy.
Director’s Special became the first liquor brand in India to introduce
the latest tamperproof technology, the holo-sleeves in February 2004.
Shaw Wallace markets the Director’s Special Whisky in bottles calibrated
with holo-sleeves only. This is a heat-shrink seal, stamped with a holographic
strip that can be applied to the lids of the bottles. It offers a unique
security solution to deter product fraud and tampering, and thus secures
the product against counterfeits.
Similarly, Royal Challenge, besides having the emblem seal, has a high-tech
carton with a ‘pop-out’ panel at the top, a recently introduced
safety innovation. Four of the Shaw Wallace facilities have ....
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