Johnnie Walker importer expects stagnation in sales volume

Sollers PPD, Romanian branch of Cypriot distributor Photos Photiades Distributors (PPD), which imports whisky brands Johnnie Walker and J&B, expects a rise in RON-denominated turnover and stagnation in terms of volume. “After the market moved past the panic of the first quarter of the year, it started to recover, and now we can be optimistic again. We offset losses recorded in the first quarter of the year and are approaching last year’s results,” said Nearchos Papacharalampous, 32, general manager of Sollers PPD. The major depreciation of the RON in the first part of this year prompted most importers to increase prices by 15 to 30% for their products. Sollers’ representative says his company raised prices by 6-7% at that time. “The first quarter was a challenge for all of us because we had to deal with many anomalies. Now modern retail is recording rises again, which means the population has started to adapt to the idea of being in a crisis,” says Papacharalampous, adding that Sollers has not operated any other price increases since the beginning of the year.