The multiple retailers' decision to discount Baileys to just £8.00/bottle has scuppered Diageo's efforts to position the liquor as a premium brand. A Diageo spokeswoman told Harpers: "We asked retailers not to do multi-buys and to concentrate on single-bottle prices but we were not expecting anything as low as £8. It doesn't help us establish Bailey s as a premium brand." The drinks giants strategy for Bailey s had been developed as a response to the impact of last year's Christmas discounts on the brand. In the run up to Christmas last year, consumers were offered two one-litre bottles for £25 in supermarkets. The brand suffered a 27% drop in value and 40% in volume in the year to May 2007, according to Nielsen. Diageo announced September that it was cancelling multi-buys on the key Christmas brand.
