LIQUOR-maker Ginebra San Miguel Inc. believes the market will still be dominated by the mass and economy brands, as most of the drinkers still belong to the segment.
Bernard Marquez, the company’s president, said that, while there may be a “premiumization” of the market, or the selling of higher-end products, it will only grab a small share.
“The mass market we see right now in the Philippines, 90 percent of the total volume of liquor is still mass and economy brands. The premium segment is still very small at the moment,” Marquez said in a briefing.
Ginebra, with its iconic gin brand of the same name, previously had a lion share of the market, but waned after it faced stiff competition from those producing “red” liquor products, such as Lucio Tan’s Tanduay-branded rum and Andrew Tan’s Emperador-branded brandy. Last year Ginebra’s liquor volume made a slight increase at just 4 percent to 22.1 million cases, from the previous year’s 21.1 million.
Meanwhile, Emperador sold more than 33 million cases of its eponymous brandy for the same period.
Emperador has recently bought scotch-whiskey maker Whyte and Mackay, the world’s fifth-largest manufacturer, and said it will bring those high-end product in the Philippines and to the rest of the Asian region.
Marquez said that Ginebra may join the said premium segment either through partnership or creating its own brands.
“We’re exploring options on participating in that segment,” he said.
Ginebra sold its nonalcoholic segment to sister firm San Miguel Brewery Inc. in a move to focus on its liquor, as the industry is “getting competitive.” The company said it made a turnaround in operations during the first quarter of the year, but it still had a net loss of P29 million, narrower than the previous year’s P88.2 million.
Revenues from alcoholic drink were at P3.58 billion, from last year’s P3.45 billion, while nonalcoholic was at P84.19 million, down from last year’s P144.75 million.
“Continuous implementation of programs focusing on core brands is expected to further promote consumer interest and offtake. This will be complemented by sustaining cost-reduction programs and improvements in distribution,” the company said.