NEWS
REMY: EARLY CHINESE NEW YEAR BOOSTED COGNAC SALES IN CHINA DESPITE A SLOWING ECONOMY
By Susan Lewis
22-1-2019
French spirits group Remy Cointreau delivered robust sales in the last quarter of 2018, as the earlier Chinese New Year boosted premium Cognac demands while sales were strong in the United States.
The Year of the Pig will start on 5 February this year, almost two weeks earlier than normal thus bringing the high demand season forward.
Remy said the earlier Chinese New Year day had helped Cognac sales in the last quarter of 2018 in Asia Pacific, lifted the company’s Asia Pacific sales by EUR4m in the period.
Remy’s Cognac sales were growing at double-digit rates across all regions at 15.6 percent, accelerating from 12 percent growth in the second quarter, and beating analysts’ expectations of 13.3 percent.
Group sales reached EUR348m (USD396m) in the last quarter, representing like-for-like growth of 8.7 percent.
Brands controlled by Remy Cointreau include Louis XIII and Remy Martin Cognacs, St Remy Brandy, Cointreau liquer and Bruichladdich Scotch Whisky.
It was the luxurious Louis XIII and the mid-market Remy Martin Cognac brands that drove the group’s robust results in 2018.
Remy Cointreau’s impressive results were in line with Cognac’s sound export performance last year.
Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac, the region’s trade association, earlier reported a fourth consecutive year of growth in 2018, with exports rising by 3% in volumes and by 2% in value.
Export volume to the USA, Cognac’s biggest market, posted a 5.8% increase, while to China, the second biggest market, was up 6.8%.
Singapore and Hong Kong, which serve as gateways to parts of China, delivered 1% and 23% rises in export volumes.
Full-year value sales of Cognac exports came in at EUR3.2bn (USD3.67bn).
(the writer can be contacted at: SusanLewis@thewinechronicle.com)
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