ALEXANDRIA, VA (September 19, 2014)-- During August, nine-liter spirits case sales in the control states were down 2.8% compared to same period sales last year despite a weak comp. Rolling-twelve month volume growth of 1.5% lagged July’s 1.9%. New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Utah reported monthly growth rates exceeding their twelve month trends.
Control state spirits shelf dollars were down 0.9% during August while trending at 4.0% during the past twelve months. Pennsylvania and Utah reported growth rates exceeding their twelve month trends.
Price/Mix for August is 1.9%, slipping from July’s 2.7%.
- August’s Control State spirits sales as reported are not impressive. However, consider:
- August, 2014, had the lowest growth rate of any August during the period 2000 thru 2014.
- August, 2014, had five Sundays compared with four during last year’s August. The stores in six control states are closed on Sunday: Alabama, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Utah, and West Virginia.
- Michigan, with 16% of the Control States’ spirits and dollars volumes, reported four weeks of sales during this August against five weeks last year (17.4% decrease in volume reported), artificially deflating sales and skewing Control States results. Michigan had seven fewer selling days during this year’s August than last year’s.
- After normalizing nine-liter spirits case sales, August’s volumetric growth is 0.7%, and rolling-twelve month volumes are up 1.8%. Likewise, after normalizing shelf dollars, August’s control states shelf dollar growth rate is 2.9% with a twelve-month trend of 4.4%.
- August’s normalized Price/Mix is 2.2%.
During August, Irish Whiskey, with 0.9% share of the control states spirits market, was the fastest growing category with 11.3% reported and a twelve month trend of 10.0%. Vodka, with 33% share, grew during the same periods at -3.2% and 1.2%. Irish Whiskey grew at a rate exceeding its twelvemonth trends.
August’s nine-liter wine case sales growth rate was 0.8%. Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Utah, Mississippi, Montgomery County Maryland, and Wyoming reported 1.1%, 1.5, 4.6%, -5.7%, 0.0%, and -3.5%, respectively. Rolling-twelve month wine volume growth was 1.8%, nearly flat with July’s 1.7%.
| 9L Cases CM % Chg | Shelf $ CM % Chg | Price/Mix | Control States | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Control States | -2.8 | -0.9 | 1.9% | |
| Central Region | -5.3 | -3.4 | 1.9% | IA, MD, MI, OH, PA, WV |
| NE Region | 1.3 | 3.0 | 2.7% | ME, NH, VT |
| NW Region | -0.7 | 1.5 | 2.2% | ID, MT, OR, UT, WY |
| Southern Region | -0.5 | 1.7 | 2.2% | AL, MS, NC, VA |
For more information about the NABCA, visit www.nabca.org.
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ABOUT NABCA:
Established in 1938, NABCA is the national association representing the Control State Systems - those jurisdictions that directly control the distribution and sale of beverage alcohol within their borders. Headquartered in Alexandria, VA, NABCA’s mission is to support member jurisdictions in their efforts to protect public health and safety and assure responsible and efficient systems for beverage alcohol distribution and sales.