Marie Brizard accuses bottling firm of blackmail

Marie Brizard Wine & Spirits has been targeted by an “unacceptable blackmail attempt” with regards to its Krupnik bottle, according to the French drinks group.

Marie Brizard said it has been targeted by an “unacceptable blackmail attempt”

Reporting its third quarter financial results, the group said an unnamed company that grants the model of the Krupnik spirits bottle under licence had made an “unconscionable request” to “modify” the financial terms of its contract within one month.

Marie Brizard said it was “not willing to accept these demands and not wanting to give in to what effectively amounts to blackmail”, and so “urgently” launched new packaging in Q3.

The group said that while sales of Krupnik had been “recording buoyant growth” since the start of 2015, the disruption had “significantly affected” its Polish sales, which declined 8.3% in the first nine months of the year.

While Marie Brizard revealed its intention to “take every possible legal route to receive compensation for losses incurred”, the group said Polish sales had stabilised by October.

Figures were also hit by the termination of Marie Brizard’s third part vodka contracts, as well as its recent divestment of retailer Galerie Alkoholi.

“In Poland, where we were the victims of an unacceptable blackmail attempt, we refused to accept these irregular practices and have taken our destiny in hand, and we accept full responsibility for this decision and the impact it has had,” said Jean-Noël Reynaud, CEO of Marie Brizard Wine & Spirits. “This alters neither our ambitions nor our business plan.”

Overall, the group’s sales sat stagnant at +0,8% in the first nine months of this year, reaching €326m.

In its domestic French market, Marie Brizard reported a 3.3% in the third quarter to €144.8 million, compared with 0.2% compared to the same period in 2014, boosted by the William Peel Scotch and Sobieski vodka brands.

In the US, sales retracted 3.9% to €13.4m due to destocking among distributors, which knocked amounted to a loss of €1m. In Brazil, figures were dramatically affected by currency weakness and plummeted 23.8% to €3m.

“The third quarter was one of contrasts,” continued Reynaud. “In France, the situation significantly improved even though we have barely begun our advertising investments. In Poland and the United States, our activity was penalised by exogenous factors that had a significant impact. We have opted to weigh on the short term in order to benefit the long term.”

Earlier this year, Marie Brizard Wine & Spirits changed its company name from Belvédère following the implementation of an “ambitious” strategic plan.