StateWays Q www.stateways.com Q March/April 2014 4
StateWays
®
Executive Vice President
and Group Publisher
Charles Forman
Tel: 845-262-1041
Fax: 845-445-6674
cforman@specialtyim.com
Editor- in-Chief
Richard Brandes
Tel: 212-353-3832
rbrandes@specialtyim.com
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Adam Lane
Contributing Editor
Melissa Niksic
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Bruce Kostic
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Mark Marcon
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Senior Regional Sales Manager
Debbie Rittenberg
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Adam Rogers
Vice President, Beverage
Amy Collins
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Media
E D I T O R ' S N O T E
Numbers on the Brain
F
or those of you who like to read about actual consumption
statistics, trends and what brands are outperforming their
category counterparts, this is the issue for you. For nearly two decades now, StateWays
has been publishing its annual Growth Brands feature that identifi es the fastest-growing wine
and spirits in the beverage alcohol industry. Much credit must be given to our hardworking
research staff, which provides the data.
So let's talk numbers. As I note in our Growth Brands story (see page 10), "U.S. distilled
spirits sales volume in 2013 rose to an estimated 210.6 million 9-liter cases, notching a 2.4%
gain versus 2012. That represents a sales volume bump of nearly 5 million 9-liter cases over
2012. Importantly, overall spirits retail revenue growth (the combined dollar total of off- and
on-premise sales) also increased in 2013, by 4.2% to $75.82 billion, a gain of more than $3
billion over 2012. The higher percentage gain in spirits revenue (versus spirits sales volume)
underlines the ongoing trend of recent years: the dynamic sales activity among premium-
priced and above-premium-priced spirits products." Our Growth Brands feature, of course,
drills down to actual brand performance, which often, but not always, refl ects the overall
trends in the industry.
It's a similar story in the wine segment. Total U.S. wine sales volume increased by an
estimated 2.2% in 2013, to approximately 326.0 million 9-liter cases. This represents a sales
volume gain of more than 6.8 million 9-liter cases versus 2012 totals. And similar to spirits,
the move toward high-end purchases continued in the wine segment, evidenced by the segment's
3.6% revenue increase in 2013, to just under $30 billion.
Though positive, these overall returns refl ect declining increases compared to recent years.
The same holds true for aggregate growth in the control states. According to data released by
NABCA, 2013 control state spirits sales volume increased 1.1% versus 2012. Leading categories
were Irish Whiskey (+12.0%), Cordials (+5.5%), Domestic Whiskey (+3.1%), Brandy/Cognac
(+2.0%), Tequila (+1.7%) and Vodka (+1.2%). Overall, the NABCA report says, the 1.1%
volume growth rate represents the lowest rate in the 14 years from 2000 through 2013. Even
during the recession of 2008 and 2009, spirits sales volume growth in the control states outpaced
last year's growth rate.
At the same time, control state spirits "shelf dollars" grew 3.9% in 2013, the NABCA
reports, with Irish Whiskey (15.6%), Domestic Whiskey (8.7%), Cordials (7.2%), Brandy/
Cognac (6.3%) and Scotch (6.1%) leading the way. This suggests that sales of premium-
priced spirits in the control states continue to progress.
But, as always in the control states, sales volume and revenue are only part of the story.
Another, equally important, consideration for control state administrators is helping to combat
the misuse and abuse of beverage alcohol products. And our story, "Social Responsibility Initiatives
in the Control States (turn to page 28), covers several of the latest, successful programs that a
number of states have instituted. This is an issue that won't go away, and it's worth noting that
the control states are generally at the forefront of these efforts.
Richard Brandes, Editor-in-Chief
