Orient - The Official Magazine of the British Chamber of Commerce Singapore - Issue 66 May 2018 - Page 38
IN FOCUS INTERVIEW WITH THE EDITOR: SAM FISCHER, PRESIDENT, GREATER CHINA & ASIA, DIAGEO By Lucy Haydon
The Asia region now accounts for 1/3 of global alcohol consumption and 20% of Diageo's net sales. In this issue's InFocus interview, President of the region, Sam Fischer, talks to me about market entry, showcasing their proud brand stories and heritage, creating bespoke experiences to meet demand, and Diageo's outstanding gender diversity achievements.
You joined Diageo in 2007 as the General Manager for IndoChina and in the years since have assumed responsibility for first South East Asia and latterly the Greater China region. How have you developed a strategy to build a brand following in this region for products with such a strong heritage outside of Asia? When you look at the breadth of the region, it is not one size fits all for our business. In each of the markets we would have looked at local consumers and insights, understood the existing categories (e.g. scotch, rum, vodka) and potential categories for our portfolio of brands. It always starts locally, as categories will be at different levels of development in each country. We look at which of our existing portfolio will be most appropriate to the stories, purpose and positioning of our brands and for the local consumers. It is not as simple as taking what we have and launching the same roadmap in every market. Once we understand the market and consumer locally, we will develop a platform to tell our stories through localised marketing to make our brands relevant to the consumers in that country. Are there any markets you have been surprised by? We are constantly looking for incremental opportunities with different categories, innovation, and new products. In China, there is an undoubtedly an opportunity for our international brands but there is also the unique category of baijiu. This is the largest spirit category in the world and is only found in China, so of course we want to participate in this market and this category. With this in mind we added Shui Jing Fang. In Australia we own Bundaberg Rum, which is iconic in the country and fits well in our portfolio. Eventually you have a blend of local flavour and international brands. The Johnnie Walker private suite we are seated in today is an example of catering to the luxury, high net worth market with your scotch portfolio. How are you able to differentiate yourself in the market for this client base? According to the Scotch Whisky Association, a record 1.7 million tourists visited scotch distilleries last year and amongst those many visitors came from Asia with the number of Chinese visitors growing 154% in admissions and revenue at our Diageo distilleries. When you look at regional premium trends and the explosion of high net worth individuals, we find that knowledge and experience can generate money-cannot-buy opportunities that these clients enjoy. (contd.)