SEOUL, KOREA - Korea’s whisky market was hit hard by the economic slump, with the nation’s overall whisky sales falling by 12.8 percent year on year. The number of whiskies shipped last year totaled 1,850,692 boxes, down 12.8 percent from 2,122,748 boxes a year ago. One box contains eighteen 500-ml whisky bottles.
The sales of Diageo Korea, which grabbed the top spot among major whisky makers last year on the back of the popularity of Windsor, suffered a 10.0-percent decline to 720,293 boxes. Pernod Ricard Korea whose flagship whisky is Imperial, also suffered a 22.8-percent setback in sales to 579,353 boxes in 2013 from 750,920 boxes in 2012.
Lotte Liquor also reported a 16.5-percent fall in sales from 273,515 boxes in 2013 from 327,549 boxes a year ago. Hite Jinro, however, marked a 1.0-percent growth in sales from 67,104 boxes in 2012 to 67,803 boxes in 2013.
