Americans spent more on spirits last year and they weren’t afraid to go top shelf either, said Gilles Bogaert, chief financial officer at Pernod Ricard (PDRDY). Pernod saw organic sales growth of 3% in its fiscal first half, representing a continued gradual improvement over the previous year. The improvement was driven by sales in the Americas which saw 4% growth compared with 2% the prior year. U.S. sales rose 3% over a flat prior year. ‘Premiumisation has been a key driver in the U.S. with people buying more expensive products,’ said Bogaert. ‘In our case Jameson has been the main driver of the growth, growing very fast at more than 20% growth.’ Boagaert added that Pernod has been spending a lot of marketing dollars on its premium vodka brand Absolut Elyx and it has been ‘growing in line with plan.’ As for the rest of the world, Pernod saw double-digit growth in India, Africa/Middle East and Australia, while Chinese sales fell 2%. Bogaert said the company is broadening its reach outside the elite class in China, admitting that it takes time to build a brand.
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