Sales reached 1,787,357 boxes (500㎖×18 bottles each) last year, they said.
The country's whisky consumption has declined in recent years - sales contracted 10.1 percent in 2009, 1.4 percent in 2010, 4.8 percent in 2011 and 11.6 percent in 2012.
Industry sources attributed the drop largely to growing popularity of low alcohol content liquors among South Koreans. "In South Korea, an increasing number of people favor low alcohol content whisky like soju and beer," a sources said. Soju, a distilled rice-based liquor, is the country's well-known alcoholic beverage.
Diageo Korea, the local operation of the world’s largest whiskey maker based in Britain, retained its top spot by selling 705,000 boxes, down 2.1 percent from 2013, according to the sources. Diageo owns such global beverage brands as Winsor, Johnnie Walker, Guinness and Baileys.
Pernod Ricard Korea, the South Korean unit of France's Pernod Ricard Group, producer of Chivas Regal and Ballantine, saw its sales drop 13.5 percent to 502,000 boxes on-year in 2014, while sales of Lotte Chilsung Beverage, South Korea-based maker of Scotch Blue, fell 9.9 percent to 246,000 boxes during the cited period.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
