In the on-trade, the report noted that venues should consider giving at least two spaces in fridges to hard seltzers. The report said hard seltzer consumers are more likely to visit on-trade venues, have more disposable income and are willing to spend more on high-quality products. The report was compiled and authored by Matthew Langley, who is a food and drink insights, strategy and brand expert with more than 19 years’ experience. He previously authored the first four editions of the Weston’s category report, the annual analysis on the cider category. The proposed offer for Darty significantly undervalues the group. The structure of the proposed offer does not deliver fair value to all shareholders. It also precludes Darty shareholders from benefiting in line with Fnac shareholders any future cost or revenue synergies. We see a higher price, a full or partial cash alternative and even possibly a dual London listing as some of the remedies for us to alter our view that this deal is not in the interests of all shareholders In the US, it’s a readily used term for alcohol but that does not hold in the UK,” explains Clements. “The word ‘seltzer’ was less of a problem – consumers in the UK are starting to get what that means, particularly driven by the huge popularity of seltzers at UK festivals, and brands such as White Claw going big on ad campaigns.” Posted at 02/10/2015 11:45 by terrys trousersCalm down Marty W, i know you are who you say. seems to be one person here and other threads trying to stir up trouble, doodlebug4, eg, why is he here in the first place, he hasnt a position, he cetainly hasnt declared it, and hes not on the thread previously. i think hes watching your profile Marty and following your posts.

Darty management has delivered against all its stated objectives, is high quality and has support from a high quality shareholder base. The underlying valuation for the Group and now the proposed offer of 101p, do not reflect these strengths, its strong cash flow profile or the future profit potential for Darty. Looking forward, Clements believes people are buying into seltzers and he says Drty was the number one or two selling product at several festivals this year, “outselling even lager at Mighty Hoopla Festival”. Raspberry Rosé offers a sweet and fruity beverage, meanwhile, White Citrus features hints of grapefruit and lime. London-based hard seltzer brand Drty released The Drty Hard Seltzer Handbook, which looks at the origin of the category, other brands in the market, consumer demographics, case studies, market size and future predictions. And as part of the brand shake-up, he also says Drty’s White Citrus has been rebadged to Lime Crush, “which is much easier to understand”.Kantar data cited by the report also found that more than 1.5m litres of hard seltzer were sold in the UK in the 12 months to 20 November 2020. Since January 2020, the category’s volume grew by 1,087% to 1.57m litres. The report said that the IWSR predicts a UK compound annual growth rate of 71% from 2019 to 2024. Fnac is cash rich, c.€540m (Dec 2014) and with little commitment to a dividend policy we question why there is no cash component to the proposed offer. The attraction of Fnac paper, a very different business to Darty, is questionable for Darty shareholders in our view.

A 25% premium for a controlling stake in one of Europe’s largest electronic and white goods retailers is too low. Macro-indicators are improving and the proposed offer appears opportunistic in our view. Q1 trading for Darty was ahead of expectations; several catalysts exist. He says the most common question during sampling was “what’s the alcohol in this?” And further research found the word ‘hard’ was the problem. It also includes commentary and predictions from industry and category experts, including Waitrose buyer John Vine, consumer insights director alcohol at Kantar Worldpanel Tom Mallett, and CGA Strategy’s Tom Mulcauley.

The revamp would seek to capitalise on RTD category growth, while disassociating from the term “hard seltzer”, Drty said. And while pre-pandemic predictions may not have come to fruition, there’s still room on the shelves for hard seltzer brands – though recent moves suggest some might be called something different. In addition to supporting category growth, the emergence of hard seltzers should help to further alter perceptions of RTD in the same way that premix products (such as canned gin and tonic) have done so successfully over the past few years.