Indian alcoholic beverages company United Spirits is reportedly planning to end direct operations such as sales, marketing and manufacturing from three states namely Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
In 2013, the company exited direct presence in Tamil Nadu in order to meet the anti-graft laws in the US and UK.
The beverage firm has decided to halt operations in Andhra Pradesh, as the state regulates the quantity of liquor sold based on a fixed percentage of a distillery's annual production capacity.
The reasons to end direct presence in Uttar Pradesh is because the trade is controlled by liquor oligarchs, while liquor retail in Kerala is controlled by government agencies and certain cash payout is required for companies seeking larger presence in stores.
The company currently has two distillers and three contract-manufacturing facilities in Andhra Pradesh, and two distillers in Uttar Pradesh.
United Spirits, which is majority-owned by Diageo, sells over one million cases of its brands annually.
