Diageo subsidiary Uganda Breweries Ltd recently opened the House of Walker, to offer personalised service, convenient trading hours, and the widest range of liquor selections, special products, and exclusivity.

Located in the lobby of the Sheraton Hotel, the House is unlike the one in Shanghai, which is a three-level club that was the first the Johnnie Walker brand opened outside its homeland Scotland. Nor does it compare with the others that subsequently opened in the US, the UK, Singapore and South Korea.

For what the Ugandan House lacks in glitz and glamour, it more than makes up for through membership to the Johnnie Walker Blue Label Club. The Club, East Africa’s first, was unveiled together with the House at a private, invite-only launch held on June 18 at the Sheraton. 

Entry into this “VVVIP Club,” as UBL’s managing director Nyimpini Mabunda termed it, is tightly controlled since it instantly gives a person access to highly exclusive services.

Access to the club is strictly through the House via the purchase of 12 bottles of Blue Label. This sets the potential member back by $2,500. And as if to state its exclusivity, only 50 slots were available when the House was officially announced.  

“Even within luxury there is ultra-luxury. This club is for the most discerning of all,” Mr Mabunda explained.

Whereas the range of benefits it offers potential members is really attractive — 24-hour service, access to similar clubs or Walker houses around the world, a closed shop experience — it is what is offered as part of the MCBE, or “money cannot buy experiences,” which truly makes it worth being a part of for anyone with deep pockets.

“If you are a Formula One fan and you travel to the Brazil Grand Prix, we can get you access to the Mercedes Benz team. No amount of money can get you that access, but we can because you are a member. If you go to any city around the world and you want to loosen up and experience night life but do not know where to go, we can arrange a guided tour,” Mabunda said.

“We own the most distilleries in Scotland, and it is a fantastic experience to visit them. Not all of them are open to the public. We can give you access to those that are closed to the public, to see how your favourite drinks are made, to be taken through how to enjoy them, and to understand their heritage,” he added.

In a fast evolving liquor market where the spirits and whisky sector faces growing competition, UBL officials are convinced that their luxury outlet is a game changer in terms of luxury retail, lifestyle, and products in the country.

“Previously, we marketed these brands through placing them in strategic locations, or by associating them with events that our potential clientele patronise,” said Annette Nakiyaga, UBL’s luxury consumer manager.

“We will continue to do that. Besides helping us to recruit more high end consumers, the store will give us a better and more intimate understanding of our clientele who, in turn, we can get personal with and appreciate their continued support. These are highly discerning consumers to whom the personal touch is of paramount importance. That’s what the House is about,” she added. 

According to the company’s analysis, while the high net-worth segment presently accounts for five per cent of the total £190 million ($300 million) in alcohol revenues in Uganda, it has the potential to quadruple in the next five years. They are keen to capture it early.