Rémy Cointreau sales plummet by 21.5%
French firm Rémy Cointreau saw organic sales fall by 17.8% in the first nine months of 2024-25, with a decline of 21.5% in the third quarter (Q3).
Sales for the first nine months totalled €787.8 million (US$819.4m).
The results continue a downward spiral for the firm, which predicted full-year sales would drop by up to 18% following its H1 results. The group confirmed this prediction in its Q3 results, adding that trends in Q4 will be ‘decisive’.
In Q3, the firm cited a ‘sharp contraction in sales’ in the Americas, caused by destocking and a high basis of comparison.
Sales in Asia-Pacific also declined, with ‘tougher’ market conditions in China. This was balanced by a ‘rebound’ in south-east Asia, which experienced strong growth in the firm’s Liqueurs & Spirit segment.
Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) saw a slight decline, but this was an improvement on Q2.
Rémy Cointreau predicts the Americas will not return to growth before Q4 at the earliest, while APAC will experience a sequential sales deterioration in H2. It forecasts EMEA will suffer from continued ‘subdued’ consumer trends in H2.
It affirmed its commitment to its cost-cutting plan for the year, which totals more than €50m (US$54m).
The Cognac crash
Cognac sales for the year to date totalled €497.2m (US$517m), down by 19% on the previous year. In Q3, the division’s sales fell by 22%, totalling €153.8m (US$160m).
For Q3, the firm reported a ‘marked decline’ in China, calling it a ‘complex market’. It claims overall performance was penalised by a slowdown in indirect sales, ‘reflecting caution on the part of distributors’, despite a ‘steep rise’ in direct sales.
E-commerce in the region remained resilient, with growth of nearly 10%.
Cognac sales in the Americas and specifically the US were hampered by inventory adjustments and a high basis of comparison.
Meanwhile, EMEA sales were ‘slightly lower’, driven by solid growth in the UK.
Cognac has been on a downward trend for most firms, not aided by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s anti-dumping inquiry. Rémy Cointreau stated that if the decision to apply 38.1% tariffs from October 2024 is confirmed, the impact for the current fiscal year would be ‘marginal’, with an action plan activated from 2025-26.
The firm’s chief financial officer had previously revealed that it would raise Cognac prices in China to mitigate the impact of tariffs.
The rest of the portfolio
Liqueurs & Spirits fared better than Cognac, totalling €274.2m (US$285.1m) for the first nine months and representing a 14.9% fall. In Q3, sales fell by 20.1% to €91.6m (US$95.3m).
The division’s sales rose across most countries in EMEA, driven by activations for Cointreau and Metaxa.
Asia-Pacific saw a ‘strong’ rise in sales, led by Cointreau and Bruichladdich in China, and by Cointreau and St Rémy in south-east Asia.
The group’s Partner Brands division fared the worst, totalling just €16.2m for the year to date and falling by 26.5% on the previous year.
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