Exclusive Launch of Bourbon Whiskey 'Gentleman's Cut'
Strategy to Enhance Growth by Expanding Spirit Portfolio
Full Effort for Smooth Landing of New Brands like 'Prapang'
After Nara Cella incorporated Nara Spirit, an independent spirits company, last month, it introduced its first product: the premium bourbon whiskey 'Gentleman's Cut,' personally crafted by NBA superstar Stephen Curry. Nara Cella plans to respond steadily to changing trends in the domestic liquor market by leveraging its new spirits brand and aims to evolve from a wine importer into a comprehensive liquor company.
Exterior of the 'Gentleman's Cut' pop-up store operated at Winefix Seongsu branch (left) and bourbon whiskey 'Gentleman's Cut' (right).
Celebrity Whiskey 'Gentleman's Cut' Draws Attention
According to the liquor industry on the 29th, Nara Cella began exclusive import and sales of 'Gentleman's Cut Straight Bourbon Whiskey' on the 26th and will operate a pop-up store at the Wine Fix Seongsu branch until the 8th of next month. After the pop-up store closes, Nara Cella plans to expand sales channels to all Wine Fix locations, The Hyundai Seoul, Shinsegae Department Store Gangnam branch, and Lotte Department Store Avenue L Jamsil branch.
Gentleman's Cut is a bourbon whiskey launched through a collaboration between Curry and the Amuse Bouche Winery in Napa Valley, California. Distillation began in 2015, and after various oak barrel aging processes, the first product was released last year. Curry actively participated in every stage of production, including distillation, blending, aging, packaging, and marketing.
The Gentleman's Cut introduced domestically is the first batch of 3,300 bottles imported, a 7-year aged whiskey with an alcohol content of 45%. The raw material composition consists of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malt. The manufacturer explains that the whiskey features sweet honey, fresh vanilla seeds, and rich caramel flavors, with rye contributing earthy and spicy notes, and a small amount of malt adding a refined and smooth intensity of cocoa and toast. The domestic retail price is 270,000 KRW per 750ml bottle.
Stephen Curry of the NBA's Golden State Warriors holding the bourbon whiskey he produced, "Gentleman's Cut."
Expanding Spirits Portfolio... Creating a Breakthrough in Market Stagnation
Nara Cella is expected to accelerate efforts to expand its spirits portfolio, including whiskey, this year as it aims to leap from a wine importer to a comprehensive liquor company. As the first step, it incorporated Nara Spirit, an independent company responsible for the spirits business, into Nara Cella at the end of last month. Personnel who were in charge of the whiskey business at Nara Spirit moved to Nara Cella, and all inventory quantities and volumes held by Nara Spirit have been finalized.
This incorporation was carried out to increase operational efficiency by integrating sales organizations and to flexibly respond to the high volatility of the market. Given the short cycles and rapid pace of trend changes in the domestic liquor market, relying solely on wine makes it difficult to respond stably to the fluctuating market changes and limits growth potential. In fact, although Nara Cella was the first wine company to be listed on the KOSDAQ market in June last year, the domestic wine market, which had grown rapidly during the pandemic, faced challenges due to economic recession and trend shifts.
Nara Cella's performance growth also stalled. As of the third quarter of last year, Nara Cella's sales were 64.4 billion KRW, down 17.9% from 78.4 billion KRW in the same period the previous year, and operating profit was 1.6 billion KRW, a decrease of 83.5% compared to 9.7 billion KRW a year earlier. Due to sluggish wine sales, inventory assets increased by about 3.6 billion KRW from 37.6 billion KRW at the end of 2022 to 41.2 billion KRW in the third quarter.
Nara Cella expects that the whiskey business division of Nara Spirit, which expanded its market influence by discovering and importing various spirits products, will maximize business synergy by integrating with Nara Cella's nationwide sales and distribution network. This year, the focus is on the smooth market introduction of new brands such as the cognacs 'Frapin' and 'Delamain,' as well as the whiskeys 'The Lakes' and Gentleman's Cut. A Nara Cella official said, “We plan to concentrate our sales and marketing capabilities to help the brands imported last year build recognition and grow in the market.”
In addition to importing spirits, Nara Cella plans to develop and sell private brand (PB) products for the distribution industry through original equipment manufacturing (OEM). Furthermore, it will accelerate the development of its own Andong Soju, led by the Future Strategy Team. Last May, Nara Cella signed a 30 billion KRW investment memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Gyeongbuk Province to establish an Andong Soju production line, and it is currently recruiting brewing experts to develop recipes.
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