Havana Club rum sales down

Havana Club rum sales down

Cuba: Havana Club rum sales fell by 3.5% in 2009, compared to 2008.

Havana Club International, the joint venture between Cuba Ron and Pernod
Ricard, said it sold 3.3 million 9 litre case sales in 2009, compared to
3.4 million cases in 2008.

A statement from Havana club International said the decline was largely
due to supply issues. It reads: "2009 saw a slight year on year decrease
for Havana Club of -3.5% which was due to temporary supply issues in the
brand's number one market, Cuba, that accounted for 80% of the loss and
the impact of the global financial crisis on key markets such as Italy
and Spain. Despite this, global demand for the brand remains strong,
indicated by the sustained growth trend in other key markets."

Havana Club climbed two places in the Impact Premium Spirits ranking
2009, up to 23rd from 25th in 2008 with 15 of its key markets seeing
double digit growth, including France, Sweden, Canada, Belgium and
Argentina.

Managing director for Havana Club International, Marc Beuve-Méry, said:
"Havana Club has outperformed many other spirit brands in the last 12
months and continues its dynamic impact on the world spirits stage.
Exciting trends have allowed us to remain buoyant, for example the
Mojito cocktail has reached popularity of huge proportions around the
globe and as the reference rum for this cocktail, Havana Club 3 Year Old
has seen a significant increase in sales.

"We have seen that within the recession consumers are still spending but
are being more discerning with their purchases. They are looking for
quality and authenticity, values that Havana Club has in abundance. As
the authentic Cuban rum Havana Club is perfectly placed to take
advantage of these trends and we are confident that our sales will
increase in line with the global economic recovery."

The company continues to target the premium aged rum category with its
range of añejos: Havana Club 3 Year Old and Havana Club 7 Year Old, the
two flagship expressions, and Havana Club Especial. The aged rums of
Havana Club are joined by ultra premium expression 15 Year Old and the
brand's luxury offering, Havana Club Máximo Extra Añejo.

The product is sold in 125 countries around the world.

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