Western-style spirit sales hit US$700m last year, and are expected to rise another 71.5pc by 2020
Morgan Stanley suggests that after tough times between 2012 and 2015, sales are picking up, with Cognac and Whisky highlighted as doing especially well
Morgan Stanley is expecting a sharp rise in the consumption of Western-style spirits (WSS) in China, after what has been a painful couple of years for sales amid the government’s anti-graft measures.
Driven by a combination of rising middle-class income and a culture of gifting and banqueting, WSS sales accelerated rapidly in the early 2000s, rising almost nine-fold in value the following decade between 2002 to 2012, albeit from a low base, Morgan Stanley said.
“This heady growth rate began to falter in 2012 when the government’s anti-extravaganza campaign cracked down on government officials’ excessive gifting and banqueting, ostentatious and conspicuous consumption,” said Olivier Nicolai and Louise Singlehurst, Morgan Stanley analysts in its latest report on the sector.
From 2012 there was a moderate decline in WSS in China, with a sharp contraction in darker Western spirits, including Cognac, Scotch Whisky and other whiskies.
Cognac proved more resilient, but still saw double-digit declines in 2013 and 2014, driven by contraction in volume and price ranges.
