Guinness to stop sale of whiskey as Johnnie Walker establishes entity in Nigeria
By Ralph Tathagata
Gains of the N14 billion revenue from Johnnie Walker, Baileys and Singleton recorded by Guinness Nigeria’s total revenue in the financial year ended June 30, 2023, are not going to be recorded in the coming years.
As legendary Johnnie Walker takes a walk, by April 2024, Guinness Nigeria will stop the importation and sale of Johnnie Walker, Baileys and other Diageo products. This latest development will wipe off 6 percent of the Nigerian brewer’s total revenues.
This was contained in a statement released on Thursday to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX). According to Guinness Nigeria, it will no longer trade in Johnnie Walker, Baileys and other Diageo products because Diageo Plc plans to establish a new, wholly owned spirits-focused business in the Nigerian and African markets.
“Guinness Nigeria will be better positioned to focus on its core business and its strength in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of non-alcoholic drinks, beer, RTDs and its locally produced spirits,” the statement said.
Guinness Nigeria, which is a subsidiary of Diageo, incurred N49bn in exchange rate loss in its 2023 half-year operations and had in August revealed challenges with accessing forex for its operations despite the harmonisation of the segments of the currency market by the Central Bank of Nigeria in June.
Guinness had been importing the spirits under its 2016 Sale & Distribution Agreement with Diageo plc, however, importation will stop in April 2024.
According to the statement, there are no changes to Diageo plc’s shareholding in Guinness Nigeria, and Diageo remains a key shareholder of Guinness Nigeria.
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