Jack Improves from Q1 but Depletions Still Soft

Dear Client: While growth for Brown-Forman was solid internationally, sales of Jack Daniel's and Southern Comfort were soft in the US, which took a toll on US results for the 6-months ended October 31. Execs are chalking it up to increased competition from new brand entrants and line extensions, particularly flavored whiskeys. CFO Don Berg noted that Jack and SoCo showed "modest improvement in the [second] quarter" but are "underperforming our expectations." So they are directing focus on SoCo and