Jameson owner to buy UK online drinks giant

The Whisky Exchange offers a range of almost 4,000 brands of Scotch, whiskey and bourbon, as well as cognac, gin, rum and tequila

Jameson owner Pernod Ricard has agreed to buy London-based business the Whisky Exchange in a move which stands to make the French spirits giant one of the drink industry’s largest online retailers.

Best known for its website, the Whisky Exchange also operates three brick-and-mortar stores in London. 

It offers a range of almost 4,000 brands of Scotch, whiskey and bourbon, as well as cognac, gin, rum and tequila in more than 30 countries, making it one of the world’s largest e-commerce businesses focused on spirits and a competitor to more generalist vendors like Amazon.com.

Pernod Ricard - which also owns Beefeater gin and Absolut vodka - is the second largest spirits maker in the world, behind only Diageo.

The purchase reflects the rising importance of online spirits sales after pandemic-induced lockdowns led to a shift in consumer behaviour.

Sukhinder and Rajbir Singh, who founded the Whisky Exchange in 1999, will remain at the helm of the business, which will operate as an independent subsidiary.

Ownership will give Pernod Ricard access to reams of real-time data on consumer demand for specific liquor categories and trending brands. The French distiller’s online sales grew 63% last year, but still account for less than 5% of the group’s revenue.

The Whisky Exchange’s parent company generated sales of £72m (€84m) in 2020, according to corporate filings.

“What I’m really excited about is that it’s the leading, most credible, most profitable platform in Europe,” Alexandre Ricard, Pernod Ricard’s chief executive officer, said about the Whisky Exchange.

-Bloomberg