William Peel drags Marie Brizard sales down 9.6%
In the first three months of the year (Q1), Marie Brizard Wine & Spirits (MBWS) saw sales fall by 9.6% to €38.7 million (US$45.24m), mainly due to the delisting of William Peel in France.
The results are part of a downward trend for the firm, which saw revenue fall by 8.6% in 2025.
Sales in its home nation of France fell by 3.6% to €17m (US$19.9m); however, the firm noted the decline was ‘less pronounced’ than in Q4 2025.
In the off-trade, sales were down by 11.6%.
These declines were attributed to the William Peel brand, which suffered delistings in 2025. MBWS said in-store sales of the brand were picking up again ‘slowly’ following an agreement reached late last year.
The on-trade in France fared better, with sales growing by 5.5%. The firm said this was mainly driven by the Marie Brizard brand of liqueurs and its innovations.
MBWS also signed a new industrial services contract in France, which generated a ‘significant’ one-off contribution in Q1.
The rest of the world
The firm fared even worse internationally, with a 13.8% decline in organic sales to €21.7m (US$25.4m). According to MBWS, the fall affected ‘almost all’ regions, with some impacted by sales timing differences over the financial year.
MBWS International, the company’s export arm, suffered a 29.2% decline, reflecting a slowdown in Belgium due to inventory rundown, at the Luxembourg-France border and in Poland.
Sales were also down in Canada, but up in the UK, Morocco and Australia.
Spain recorded a 17.5% decline in Q1, due to a slowdown in the industrial services business, which fell by 21.6%. MBWS said this was attributable to a ‘relatively challenging’ baseline for last year and temporary production stoppages to allow for the renewal of production equipment.
It expects the industrial services business to return to normal levels in Q1.
Q1 sales in the firm’s ‘strategic brands’ business were stable.
In Denmark, the group doubled in size after integrating Interbrands Denmark. While revenues jumped by 106.8% on a reported basis, however organic sales in Q1 were down by 17.5%. MBWS attributed this to the postponement of orders to Q2.
Lithuania Q1 sales were down by 11.7%. The firm said the market was impacted by the significant increase in excise duties in 2026, which prompted stockpiling towards the end of 2025, as well as ‘intense’ promotional activity among competitors.
Exports were down, particularly for William Peel in Ukraine, which experienced sales delays over the period.
Bulgarian Q1 sales were also down by 18.9%, again due to the industrial services export business and the domestic wine market.
Brazil also saw a 10.2% decline, mainly due to the slowdown in sales of local brands.
More positively, Q1 sales in the US rose by 59.1%, driven by Sobieski, Gautier and Marie Brizard. These numbers were compared with a ‘very low’ baseline in 2025.
MBWS said this growth was also due to the distributor bringing forward orders for Sobieski, as well as ‘strong’ sales momentum for Marie Brizard and changes to the route to market for Gautier.
The firm’s outlook remains unchanged from its announcement in April. MBWS expects a ‘gradual recovery’ in 2025 due to the reinstatement of William Peel in major retail chains in France.
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