While Americans were binge drinking themselves into oblivion, nobody seemed to notice that they were paying more to get hammered. Diageo, which owns several liquor companies including Smifnoff Vodka, said that North America accounted for 40 percent of its sales last quarter. This is mostly because brand whores in America purchase top shelf liquor more than anyone else, regardless of price. It's all about what you drink, not how much you're paying for it. This is horribly flawed logic.
Once Diageo realized that Americans were willing to pay whatever for liquor, they implemented a 9 percent increase on elite scotches. Despite the increase in price, sales volumes remained steady, meaning consumers didn't notice the spike in price. Anheuser-Busch also reported a 1.2 percent dip in sales by volume that corresponded with a 3.9 percent jump in revenue thanks to an increase in American beer prices.
Now that this information has been shared, will sales decrease or will people keep right on drinking and not caring? We'll bet on the latter.
[via Bloomberg]
