Mumbai, Nov 02: United Spirits Ltd today announced entering into a distribution agreement with Russian Standard Company, the leading manufacturers of vodka, to gain a toe-hold in that country.
As per the terms of the tie-up, United Spirits Ltd would
export four of its middle and premium whisky brands to Russia,
while importing and distributing premium vodka brand Russian
standard in the Indian market.
United Spirits Ltd, the largest brewing company in the
country with a national market share of 50 per cent, is also
the market leader in the vodka segment selling about two
million cases a year and covering 80 per cent of the Indian
market with brands like white Mischief, Romanov and Alcazar.
"The Russian Standard brand would be marked up at a
premium range but the pricing would be competitive," United
Spirits Chairman and Managing Director Vijay Mallya told
reporters here.
Commenting on the deal, Russian Standard company
president Roustam Tariko said that India offers a great
opportunity with the growing vodka consumption. The companies
are planning to ship their products here for bottling and
sale.
On his China foray, Mallya said that because the markets
are largely state controlled, the company plans to go on its
own and is setting up office in Shanghai.
For the wine business, the liquor baron was upbeat
stating that a large winery was coming up at Baramati with an
initial investment of Rs 50 crores.
Bureau Report
First Published: Thursday, November 02, 2006, 00:00