Last year was a record one for luxury goods group Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) although the pace of sales growth slowed from 2022 — but Cognac sales fell by 33% in the third quarter. Ron Emler investigates. Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault said the company grew its sales by 9% to €86.2 billion in 2023, which represented organic growth of 13% and said he was looking forward to 2024 “with confidence”. Finance director Jean-Jacques Guiony, said that an annual growth rate of about 10% was the group’s ongoing target. Although Arnault made no mention of it, there was, however, a black mark on the overall performance: Cognac. Organic sales in LVMH’s Moet Hennessy wines and spirits division fell by 4% (7% in cash terms) in the year and profits from recurring operations were down 2%. Cognac While the Champagne empire posted unquantified “growth”, Hennessy Cognac had a bad year. America and China are the two biggest export markets for Cognac and both were badly hit by consumer resistance to inflation and changing tastes. Shipments to China for the new year which begins in two weeks’ time, have been reduced to regulate existing stocks while the large inventory overhang in the US is a prime cause of Remy Cointreau’s present travails. But Remy Cointreau had some better news for investors in its third quarter sales figures. After making a none too oblique reference to Hennessy (the “intense promotional environment”) and its attempts to rectify overstocking in America, Remy Cointreau said its
This Article was originally published on The Drink Business - Champagne
