The growing use of marijuana as an alternative to alcohol is putting “pressure” on the spirits industry, contributing to a decline in profits in recent years, the president of a major alcohol company with ancillary brands such as Jack Daniel’s and Woodford Reserve says.
During an earnings call on Thursday, Brown-Forman Corporation CEO Lawson Whiting was asked how to account for a 5 percent decline in net sales across its portfolio of alcohol companies. Beyond lower levels of discretionary spending among the public, he said, it largely comes down to the “same big three.” That is: generational trends, novel weight loss drugs and cannabis.
