Wildmoor, Scotland Captured in a Glass of Whiskey
Complementing Weaknesses with Wildmoor...
Challenging Whiskey Market Dominance
William Grant & Sons Korea, famous for 'Balvenie' and 'Glenfiddich,' has thrown down the gauntlet in the domestic premium blended whiskey market with its new brand 'Wildmoor.' The company aims to offer a new alternative in the high-end blended whiskey market, which has relatively limited diversity with brands like 'Ballantine's' and 'Johnnie Walker.'
Wildmoor, Scotland Captured in a Glass of Whiskey
On the 15th, William Grant & Sons Korea held a launch press conference at its headquarters in Seongsu-dong, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, officially introducing the blended Scotch whiskey brand 'Wildmoor' to the domestic market.
Wildmoor is a whiskey brand made from the 'Ancient Reserve' spirit, carefully selected from malt and grain whiskey stocks collected privately by the William Grant & Sons family over 60 years. Based on rare whiskeys collected and managed by the owning family for more than six decades, the whiskey was blended at the Girvan and Dufftown distilleries and completed through additional maturation.
Kim Hyo-sang, CEO of William Grant & Sons Korea, is explaining the product at the 'Wildmoor' launch press conference held on the 15th. [Photo by Gu Eun-mo]
What differentiates Wildmoor from other whiskey brands is that it is a limited edition brand with restricted quantities from its inception. Since it is made from whiskey stocks privately collected by the owning family, including spirit from now-defunct ghost distilleries, no further production through distillation is possible. Additionally, it is characterized by blending spirits from all regions beyond the traditional regional distinctions of Scotch whiskey to pursue new flavors.
Kim Hyosang, CEO of William Grant & Sons Korea, stated, "Wildmoor is a whiskey made from spirits of previously unknown or vanished ghost distilleries across Scotland, not limited to a specific region." He added, "The pure character emphasized by Wildmoor will present a unique taste and aroma different from existing blended whiskeys."
However, despite being a brand with limited production from the start, it was clearly stated that Wildmoor is not a brand launched with the goal of short-term sales. Kim Junghoon, Wildmoor brand manager, explained, "Since no more distillation is taking place, the brand has an advantage in terms of rarity. However, it is not a brand that will disappear after selling limited quantities quickly; rather, we aim to maintain the brand's longevity through controlled supply."
Three products have been released domestically: 'Wildmoor Dark Moorland 23YO,' 'Wildmoor Rugged Coast 30YO,' and 'Wildmoor Black Mountain 40YO.' Since the most affordable product is the 23-year-old aged whiskey priced in the 300,000 KRW range, the brand is expected to primarily target relatively high-income consumers.
Manager Kim explained, "In Europe, there is a growing perception that luxury enjoyed in the city is not the entirety of luxury." He added, "Wildmoor targets those who seek a new lifestyle that steps out of the city and embraces nature." He also mentioned, "Since car camping and camping are trending domestically, we will adopt a similar brand strategy."
Complementing Weaknesses with Wildmoor... Challenging Whiskey Market Dominance
William Grant & Sons Korea is one of the companies that benefited most from the whiskey boom that spread after the COVID-19 pandemic. William Grant & Sons is an independent distillery company that has maintained family management for five generations since William Grant established a distillery in the Speyside region of Scotland in 1887. The Korean subsidiary, William Grant & Sons Korea, was established in 2008.
Its flagship brands include single malt whiskeys such as 'Glenfiddich' and 'Balvenie,' blended whiskeys like 'Grants' and 'Monkey Shoulder,' and 'Hendrick's' gin. Particularly, during the pandemic, Balvenie gained enthusiastic popularity among both beginners and enthusiasts, leading the whiskey open-run trend. Last year, the 'Balvenie DoubleWood 12YO' was also ranked as the best-selling whiskey at 'Wine & More,' a liquor specialty shop affiliated with the Shinsegae Group.
As domestic whiskey demand has increased in recent years, William Grant & Sons Korea has rapidly grown. According to the Financial Supervisory Service, sales, which were around 26.6 billion KRW in 2019 before the pandemic, surged to 84.2 billion KRW in 2023, more than tripling. During the same period, operating profits, which had been in the red, turned positive and increased significantly to around 30 billion KRW.
William Grant & Sons is expected to continue its offensive to expand market share this year with an enhanced portfolio. While the company has shown strong competitiveness in the single malt whiskey category with brands like Balvenie, it previously lacked notable products in the premium blended whiskey segment. Grants and Monkey Shoulder performed well in the lower-priced category, but there was virtually no product to compete with the industry's two giants: Diageo's 'Johnnie Walker' and Pernod Ricard's 'Ballantine's' and 'Royal Salute' aged products in the high-end segment.
However, with the launch of Wildmoor, a more complete portfolio has been established, and competition in this product category is expected to intensify. Manager Kim said, "We believe the rapidly growing domestic whiskey market has recently stabilized and is becoming polarized. Given the growth trend in the premium whiskey market, we expect Wildmoor to become an alternative choice that surpasses the limited existing products in the blended whiskey market."
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