28th July, 2014 by Amy Hopkins

While Glenfiddich is still the only single malt Scotch whisky to sell over one million cases, The Glenlivet is “closing the gap”, the CEO of Chivas Brothers has said.

According the Laurent Lacassagne, CEO of Pernod Ricard’s whisky and gin unit Chivas Brothers, The Glenlivet is catching up with category leader Glenfiddich, owned by William Grant & Sons, which is currently the only single malt Scotch whisky to reach sales of one million cases.

“We have great ambitions for The Glenlivet and we want it to be the leading malt whisky in the world,” Lacassagne told The Spirits Business. “We observe a very strong growth and have gained market share in volume and even more in value in the last three years.

“It is a very, very strong brand and number two in volume terms. We are closing the gap on the category leader but are progressing more in value than in volume.”

Glenfiddich featured in our recently published Brand Champions 2014 as one of the best-selling Scotch whisky brands, yet special mention was given to The Glenlivet, which is expected to achieve sales of over one million cases in the coming year.

In September last year, Lacassagne said The Glenlivet was “the star” of Pernod Ricard’s portfolio, recording new record volume according to the company’s 2012/2013 full year financial results and showing the fastest rate of growth among the company’s top 14 spirits and Champagnes, with an 18% volume increase.

Lacassagne also said that the brand had enjoyed double-digit growth in over 30 markets including both “mature and emerging” countries.

In particular, following comments by Alexandre Ricard, incoming CEO of Pernod Ricard, that the group’s products are currently “under-exposed” in the lucrative US market, Lacassagne said the region has been “very strong” for The Glenlivet.

“We see developing markets around the world as holding a lot of potential and we are confident in the long-term potential of our brand,” he said.