Closed pubs and bars, a tendency to cheaper types of alcohol, but also a lack of tourists in the Czech Republic. According to the bosses of Becherovka, these are the main reasons why the company’s profit and sales fell last year.
–
“We have had an extraordinary year. Of course, long restrictions and the absence of tourism have had a negative impact on our sales. Our turnover fell by about 11 percent, “says Anna Beriashvili, the company’s CEO, in an interview with SZ Business.
–
In the financial year ending in June at the Jan Becher Pernod Ricard liqueur, sales fell by 124 million crowns – to 1,073 million crowns. Profit before tax amounted to 122 million crowns. A year earlier it was 221 million.
–
Becherovka
The Karlovy Vary producer has been part of the French Pernod Ricard Group since 1997, one of the two largest producers of spirits and wine in the world.
–
The company’s core product is the world-famous herbal liqueur Becherovka Original, which is exported to more than 40 countries around the world.
–
Largest export markets:
——
“In the context of the whole year, however, I would evaluate our results as positive. The pandemic changed everything around us. Our lives, “says Beriashvili, noting that consumption has moved from businesses to households, and especially at the beginning of the pandemic, the sensitivity of Czechs to price has increased significantly and they have preferred cheaper types of alcohol – cheaper vodka, for example.
–
Last year, the volume of Becherovka production also fell slightly. In total, the liqueur prepared 5 million liters for her last year. In a non-pandemic year, it would be about a tenth more – 5.4 million liters.
–
The company exports 66 percent of its production abroad. There, despite restrictions and covid, it managed to increase sales slightly last year, as did sales of imported brands, which rose by 4.9 percent.
–
Becherovka is a company with more than two centuries of tradition. It was founded in 1807 by the Becher family, then as a family business. Today it is part of the French company Pernod Ricard. The Pernod group owns, among other things, the Absolut vodka brand or the Martell cognac brand.
— .
