Johnnie Walker is a popular brand of Scotch Whisky that was formed during the year 1820 and is originated in the Scottish town of Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire. This brand was first established by grocer John Walker which is associated with the beverage industry, dealing with manufacturing of blended whiskey.
Johnnie Walker is the most distribute brand of the blended Scotch Whisky in the world. It is sold in almost every part of the world and has an annual sale of about 223.7 million. The brand’s main target segment is the urban people who prefer premium whiskey.
This brand is ranked at the number three position in the global market as the best-selling whiskey with respect to volume. Being the most popular brand, it produces many brands like Red Label, Double Black Label, Black Label, Green Label, Platinum Label, Gold Label, Blue Label, Red and Cola, and Johnnie Walker Swing. It has a strong distribution channel that has helped the brand to be popular across.
The products of Johnnie Walker are slightly at the higher range as it has the confidence to deliver the best quality product and also meets customer loyalty. Being a recognized brand, the brand has adopted many promotional policies for its product marketing.
Having loyal customers makes this brand stand ahead with high brand recall.
About Johnnie Walker
- Type: Scotch whisky brand
- Industry: Beverages
- Founded: 1820 in Kilmarnock, Scotland
- Founder: John Walker
- Headquarters: Edinburgh, Scotland
- Area served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Ivan Menezes
- Number of employees: 18,000+
Through this article, let us discuss the SWOT analysis of Johnnie Walker.
Table of Contents
Strengths in the SWOT Analysis of Johnnie Walker
- Effective Management – Johnnie Walker implements its business strategy with its effective management. It helps to increase its margin and being popular in the market.
- Largest Selling Brand – Johnnie Walker is the largest selling brand of whiskey in the world. It gains its reputation among its customer to be seen at the top for whiskey lovers.
- Continuous Supply – The brand takes the utmost care to maintain its production and supply. It takes care to see that there is never a shortage in the supply. It sources a large number of raw material.
- Huge Product Line – Being a popular and premium brand, Johnnie Walker brand has a high demand in the market. It produces many products that include blends like Red Label, Double Black Label, Black Label, Green Label, Platinum Label, Gold Label, Blue Label, Red and Cola, and Johnnie Walker Swing.
- Strong Distribution Channel – Johnnie Walker has a strong distribution channel and due to which this brand is available in many countries through pubs, hotel, clubs, restaurants, duty-free shop at the airport terminal, and liquor shops.
- High Brand Equity – This brand maintains high brand equity which is a main strength for the company.
- Better Taste and Quality – Johnnie Walker products taste better and their products are produced with high quality.
- Awards – Johnnie Walker has received many scores at the international spirit rating competitions and from various liquor review bodies.
- Sponsors Events – Johnnie Walker is the authorized whiskey of Formula One and are sponsors of two F1 teams named McLaren and Racing Point.
Weaknesses in the SWOT Analysis of Johnnie Walker
- Changing Currency Risk – Since this is a global brand and is available in many countries, it is exposed to currency risk that is a great weakness for the brand. Changing currency values impacts business revenue to a greater extent.
- Target Group – Johnnie Walker has a limited target group for some of its brand. It has to gain visibility on the brand that has still not reached much visibility.
- High Price – Johnnie Walker’s products are highly priced and hence might end up losing customers for the same.
Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis of Johnnie Walker
- Expanding to New Markets – Johnnie Walker sees more business opportunity upon expanding its business to new markets like China and Australia. This will, in fact, help the brand to gain more visibility as well.
- European Market – To gain more visibility the brand can penetrate into the European Market where there is a lot of business opportunity.
- Lower Drinking Age – The lower drinking age limitations that are imposed outside the US sees a lot of whiskey takers and provides more opportunity for production.
Threats in the SWOT Analysis of Johnnie Walker
- Regulation in Drinking Age – The drinking age regulation is a serious threat to the brand. It impacts business revenue to a great extent.
- Liquor Taxation – The tax imposed on liquor is also a serious threat to the business. Based on the tax, the liquor prices will also rise thereby losing customers who may not afford to buy it.
- Smaller Brands – Sale of smaller brands in the market and its uncertainty in the sales is also a serious threat to the brand.
- Raw Material Prices – The change in the prices of the raw material used in the production of whiskey will also impact the production of Johnnie Walker products. It will, in fact, affect the prices of the product as well.
- Competitors – Johnnie Walker brand sees a lot of competitors in the whiskey market.
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