SCOTLAND'S whisky industry will be better placed than many sectors to cope with any western economic fallout from the credit crunch, the new chairman of the Scotch Whisky Association said yesterday.
Paul Walsh, who is also chief executive of Diageo, the world's biggest whisky company, said: "We are not immune from any economic downturn but we will weather it better than most."
Walsh cited two defensive factors of the industry that would help
it handle any downturn – its strong exposure to emerging markets not so affected by the credit crisis and the relative affordability of the product.
"There is no question that the economies of the world have softened," he said. "But I don't think it is as calamitous as has been reported. Emerging markets, where whisky is strongly represented, are continuing on the trajectory they were on before the credit crunch."
Amid the gathering western economic gloom, the new SWA chairman also said whisky would benefit from being "an affordable indulgence".
Walsh, whose vice-chairman at the SWA has been named as Edrington Group chief executive Ian Curle, added: "It is not like a fancy holiday or a car, but an indulgence that is part of a person's daily experience."
He said that, as a result, the sector would show resilience as consumers tightened their belts.
The full article contains 224 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
