NEWS
WHISKYSTATS: JAPANESE BRANDS TOPPED VALUE-LOSING CHART AS WHISKY MARKET SHIFTS
By Siulan Law Mathews DipWSET
18-4-2024
Credit: Ambitious Studios-Rick Barret/Unsplash
Netherlands-based whisky data analysis company, Whiskystats, recently released a report claiming that the global whisky market is shifting and Japanese whiskies are quickly losing their values in auction market.
Entitled ‘Has Whisky Become a Buyer’s Market?’, the report said that the number of whisky bottles traded at auction houses fell by 5 per cent last year, with their cumulative hammer prices dropping sharply by 19 percent.
The report also showed that more than 10,000 bottles had failed to meet reserve prices in 2023, that was 36 percent more than in 2022.
It said the top three most value-losing brands were all Japanese – Chichibu (-43 percent), Karuizawa (-36 percent) and Yamazaki (-33 per cent).
Johannes Moosbrugger, founder and head of data at Whiskystats, said: “Data shows that the whisky market is shifting. Buyers’ willingness to purchase whisky at listed retail prices has dropped significantly.”
“And even for whiskies that eventually sell, bottles tend to remain on shelves far longer than in the recent past. What we’re seeing in the auction market data is clear – prices are no longer reaching the peak prices of the COVID era, and there are some great bottles for sale at the lowest prices in years.”
The report found Bimber and Longmorn were the leaders in the retail-auction price gap. Big collector brands including Ardnamurchan, Springbank and Daftmill saw prices begin to dip at retail.
But Macallan had the most collector-oriented activity thanks to its secondary market dominance. It found that Macallan is, by some margin, the world’s most auctioned whisky brand.
This was significantly driven by last year the record-breaking auction sale of The Macallan 1926, featuring the Valerio Adami label, which sold for £2.2 million.
Whiskystats also named Craigellachie the most-improved brand in public perception in 2023, while Ardmore and Jura saw the biggest decline in quality perception, based on public ratings.
The company launched a first-of-its-kind “collector-drinker gauge” to compare secondary market turnover to public ratings and reviews.
The gauge revealed that Macallan, Hibiki and Yamazaki were the most collector-oriented brands, while Ledaig, Kavalan and Glen Scotia were the most drinker-focused.
(the writer can be contacted at: info@thewinechronicle.com)
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