Spirits Holding up Off-Premise as Pricing and Mix Slide

Dear Client:Supermarket spirits sales continue to hold up during the recession, with May volumes post a 2.3% gain, according to Nielsen scans reported by UBS analyst Melissa Earlam. That coincides with a 12 week trend of up 2.4% and a 52 week trend of up 2.5%. So spirits volume gains are staying fairly steady, although April trends were a big higher, up 3.4%, reflecting Easter timing.However, pricing and the trading up mix are slowing more dramatically, with pricing and mix