Producers and sellers of Scotch whisky recorded a significant sales growth abroad after the referendum on the British exit from the EU (Brexit), said on Friday Agency Bloomberg with reference to market participants.
“It’s like “black Friday” whiskey”, — said the head of procurement London retailer The Whisky Exchange don Davis. According to him, after the referendum had been “a crazy surge in sales growth of 30 to 40%”.
Sales of Scotch whisky are growing on the background of the depreciation of the pound after the referendum, which accelerated after the Bank of England to cut interest rates for the first time in seven years, writes Bloomberg. The devaluation of the pound reduced the value of Scotch whisky for buyers with euros, dollars or yuan for 10% or more, the Agency said. For example, a bottle of Bourbon Arran 2000 shop The Whisky Exchange in London the day of the referendum, 23 June would cost to foreigners in the amount equivalent to $105, now $93,18. A bottle of Glen Grant 1968 fell from $728,16 to $646,11, and the most expensive item in the store — whisky Springbank 1919 — the dollar fell almost $9 thousand to $72,3 million, writes Bloomberg.
The store reported that about 70% of the buyers of whisky tourists. At the same time, retail retailers recognize that some tourists buy whisky in the UK to sell on online auctions upon returning home, says Bloomberg.
With the decline of lb customers also became interested in the more expensive grades of whisky, the Agency said the shop owner and bar Milroy”s of Soho Martin Simpson. “Sales has changed dramatically. Bottle from the upper price segment are more popular and cheaper not sold,” he said.
In turn, the company Diageo, which produces whisky brand Johnnie Walker, reported that sales have improved even before the referendum.
Scottish whiskey is the most exported product from the UK food and drinks. Annually it brings into the coffers of the Kingdom up to £4 billion ($5.3 billion). However, in 2015, sales of the beverage abroad fell 2.8%.
Manufacturers of Scotch whiskey were opposed to Brexit, insisting that the single EU market is vital for their business, says Bloomberg. But on the background of growth of sales after the referendum, the shares of Diageo rose by 19%.
