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Irish Distillers sees demand soar as Jameson whiskey achieves record sales

Linda Stewart — Thu, 01 Sep 2022 09:25:49 +0000

A record 10.4 million cases of Jameson were sold in the year ending 30 June, according to full year results from Irish Distillers.

Sales surpassed the 10 million case mark for the first, surpassing the 8.6 million cases of Jameson sold in its previous financial year.

In Ireland, the spirits market grew by 8pc in 2021. Irish Distillers reported that sales of Jameson in Ireland rose by a fifth in its financial year to the end of June.

Almost half of Jameson cases were sold in the United States, with Irish Distillers reporting that 4.5 million cases were sold there for the first time.

Overall, Irish whiskey was the third fastest growing category in the US in 2021, selling roughly 5.9 million 9L cases

The return of travel retail also contributed to Irish Distiller’s growth across the year, with sales of Jameson in this category soaring by 157pc as demand for travel returned.

Jameson also grew in popularity in emerging markets, including India, Bulgaria and Zambia where sales went beyond the 100,000 case mark for the first time.

Irish Distillers also noted that consumers were embracing more premium products, with sales of the group’s prestige range, including Redbreast, Midleton Very Rare and Spot ranges, rising by 16pc across the year.

This was also reflected in Ireland. Prestige Irish whiskey sales rose by just over a quarter in this period.

“Our strategy has been laser-focused on growing the Jameson brand and awareness of the Irish whiskey category more generally. As the results today show, this has been incredibly successful and has solidified Jameson as a truly global brand,” chairman and CEO Nodjame Fouad said.

He acknowledged that “various issues on the global stage” are leading to uncertainty for both businesses and consumers and added “we will continue to deliver on our business strategy and ensure that we have measures in place to manage any potential challenges.”

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Northern Ireland has second least affordable pump prices in UK

Linda Stewart — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 09:47:06 +0000

Drivers in Northern Ireland have the second least affordable fuel prices in the UK, according to a new analysis of data by energy experts Boiler Central.

They used data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) and Experian to calculate the cost of petrol against average weekly wages in each of the UK’s 12 regions.

Drivers in the North East emerged worst off, set to spend more of their weekly wages on petrol than anywhere else in the UK – despite having the lowest average cost for a full tank at £100.83 – due to lower average wages in the region.

Northern Ireland has the second least affordable fuel in the country, with residents paying an average of 16.73 percent of their weekly wages on petrol.

At £101.71 for 55 litres when the analysis was carried out, petrol was slightly more expensive in Northern Ireland than it was in the North East, while Northern Ireland has the second-lowest weekly wages in the UK, at £608, bringing it into the second slot.

Residents in cities such as Newcastle and Sunderland – with an average weekly wage of £593 – could use up to 17 percent of their weekly wages to fill up a standard car with 55 litres of fuel, the data showed.

Petrol hit a new high of 191.05p a litre on Sunday, further fueling the spiralling cost of living crisis leaving millions of Britons worse off each month. Meanwhile, diesel has hit new highs of 199.09p, meaning a 55-litre family car would cost an eye-watering £109.42 to fill up. This marks the biggest jump in fuel prices in 17 years, with the cost of filling a family car exceeding £100 for the first time since records began.

Drivers in London spend an average of just 11.8 percent of their weekly wages on petrol – this is despite the fact that a 55 litre tank costs more in London than anywhere else in the UK, at £102.32, offset by the average weekly wage of £867, the highest in the country.

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Fuel prices inexplicably continue to rise: RAC

Linda Stewart — Wed, 29 Jun 2022 10:10:54 +0000

Fuel prices are inexplicably continuing to rise despite showing signs of peaking earlier this week, the RAC says.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “Inexplicably, fuel prices rose yet again yesterday with petrol hitting a new all-time high of 191.24p per litre and diesel just short of another record at 199.01p.

“We can see absolutely no rhyme or reason why average forecourt prices are still going up, given that the wholesale price of both fuels has been falling for weeks.

“Drivers up and down the country have a right to know why they’re having to pay what they are for fuel when the costs to retailers right now are so much less they were a few weeks ago. Next Thursday’s announcement by the CMA following its review will no doubt be watched very closely.

“Suggestions that the Government might be about to announce more support for hard-pressed drivers are welcome. A cut to the price of forecourt fuel really can’t come soon enough.

“If it’s a further fuel duty cut that the Chancellor decides on, it’s absolutely vital that this is passed on in full immediately by retailers to give drivers some respite from these historic high prices. It’s also vital the Government monitors the wholesale market and closely scrutinises retailer margins.”

On Monday the RAC had expressed hopes that pump prices had peaked for the time being as petrol crept only very slightly higher than the day before at a new record average price of 191.1p.

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Cost of petrol should be dropping by now: RAC

Linda Stewart — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 09:59:15 +0000

The RAC says the price of petrol in the UK should have stopped rising by now and should be going into reverse.

Their comments come as both the price of petrol and diesel set new records on Friday, with petrol averaging 190.22p a litre and diesel rising to 198.46p.

The RAC warned that motorists have every reason to be angered.

Fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “The average price of petrol has now sadly reached another miserable milestone by topping £1.90 a litre (190.22p) and diesel has also moved up another half a penny to 198.46p. With both fuels once again setting new records, full tanks now cost £104.62 and £109.15 respectively.

“The cost of petrol at the pumps should really have stopped rising by now and should in fact be going into reverse. For some strange reason, the supermarkets continue to push unleaded higher very much against the trend on the wholesale market. Drivers have every right to be angered by this.

“While there is no doubt wholesale costs increased dramatically a few weeks ago this is not the case now, so pump prices must start to fall for fuel retailers to retain credibility with their customers as well as not attracting the negative attention of the Competitions and Markets Authority.”

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UK diesel edging towards £2 a litre as retailers warned over unleaded rise

Linda Stewart — Thu, 23 Jun 2022 10:39:55 +0000

Fuel retailers in the UK have been warned they could be playing into the hands of competition authorities if they don’t reduce the price of unleaded in the next few days.

The RAC says it is surprised and disappointed that the price of unleaded continues to edge higher when the cost on the wholesale market is telling a different story.

Meanwhile, the average of diesel in the UK is edging closer to £2 a litre, the motorist group warned.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “The average price of petrol went up by a half a penny to 189.84p on Wednesday while diesel jumped almost a penny to 198p a litre making a full tank nearly £109 (£108.90).

“It seems as though we are just days away from the frightening prospect of the price of diesel averaging £2 a litre across the UK taking the cost of a full tank to a staggering £110. For drivers who still think in gallons this would be £9 a gallon.

“We’re surprised and disappointed to see the price of unleaded continuing to rise as the cost on the wholesale market tells a very different story. Over the course of last week delivered wholesale petrol averaged 148p a litre which should lead to a price of around 186p after factoring in 7p-a-litre retailer margin and VAT at 20%.

“We suspect if retailers fail to reduce their prices in the next few days they will find themselves playing into the hands of the Competition and Markets Authority which is currently looking into their behaviour.

“The average price of a litre at a motorway services is now 203.45p for petrol and 205.88p diesel while at the cheaper end of the market the average paid at one of the big four supermarkets is 187.83p for petrol and 196.21p diesel. The price of supermarket diesel has rocketed by 11p a litre in the last fortnight alone.”

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