Pernod Ricard to spend US$13.5m promoting Absolut in Thailand

Charaspan Srisawadi, marketing manager for wine and white spirits at Pernod Ricard, which imports Absolut from Sweden, said that young Thais are increasingly drinking more vodka, with that market having grown by 20 per cent – faster than whisky.

She said that most vodka drinkers tend to be in Bangkok and major tourist destinations like Phuket and Samui.

Last year, Thais bought between 120,000 and 130,000 cases of vodka and this is expected to rise to 150,000 cases this year and 170,000 next year.

With a 35 per cent market share, Absolut currently ranks second in the local vodka market, behind Smirnoff. But the brand does well in supermarket and hypermarket sales.

Charaspan said Thailand was among the fastest-growing markets for Absolut after China and India.

During the first nine months of this year, local sales of Absolut jumped by 37 per cent while the overall market expanded 19 per cent. By year-end, its sales are expected to total 40,000 cases.

Pernod Ricard is aiming to make Absolut the market leader with a 45 to 50 per cent share in the next five years. 

To do this, it is celebrating the launch with a newly-opened Absolut Parc ice bar, a US$1 million initiative, which allows customers to spend 10 minutes experiencing temperatures of -10 Celsius.