BROWN SPIRITS REPORT: RÉMY COINTREAU
very first ‘Whisky’ business unit within the group. This followed the earlier
acquisitions of the Domaine des Hautes Glaces and Westland Distilleries in line with Rémy’s stated strategy ambition to become ‘a world leader of exceptional spirits’ [which it has long been acknowledged as in the Cognac business-Ed]. Rémy acquired the Westland
Distillery company of Seattle last December for an undisclosed sum to take it into the very trendy ‘craft whiskey’ market with Westland’s ‘malt style’ brands expected to retail between $70 and $125.
Ultra premium & exclusive Acquisitions apart, much of the company’s activity over the last year has also centred around the Rémy Martin brand, alongside that brand’s very close and very profitable relationship with the ultra- premium and exclusive side of the DF&TR retail business. Such was the case last January
with the first edition of the company’s ‘Time Collection’ called ‘The Origin – 1874’ made available at selected airport stores at a recommended selling price of no less than €5,000 ($5,309). Airport operators that benefited
from this included Paris (SDA), London (WDF),
Frankfurt
(Heinemann), Dubai (DDF), Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Singapore (DFS) and Tokyo. This offering was ‘a series of unique limited editions showcasing
milestones in the history of Louis XIII’, of which ‘The Origin – 1874’ was the first. More recently, the Rémy brand
also celebrated its 14th year as the official supplier to the 70th Cannes Film Festival in March, where it
unveiled its exclusive
XO limited edition. Last year also saw several other
positive sales and promotional initiatives, including November’s month-long celebration of the company’s brand portfolio and heritage at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport’s Lounge 1. Run in partnership with Gebr. Heinemann, this
immersive
activation entitled ‘The Craft Journey – Travel to the Origins of Elite Spirits’, was designed to inspire Schiphol shoppers to learn more about the Rémy Cointreau portfolio and ‘encourage them to jump from a category with which they are familiar to another, thereby enlarging their repertoire’.
Maximising spend per head More practically it also aimed to increase and maximise customer spend per head, while broadening the awareness and appeal of various liquor and spirits sub-categories. Rémy Cointreau GTR Global
Marketing & Development Director Lyndea Dew described the initiative as an opportunity ‘to break down category walls’ and zero in on customer passion for authenticity, know-how and origins – rather than stick to one tried
Baptiste Loiseau, Cellar Master and creator of Carte Blanche with Augustin Depardon, Executive Brand Director.
and tested category.” As a result the promotion featured
a selected range of premium expressions from the Rémy Cointreau portfolio, including Mount Gay, The Botanist, Bruichladdich, Rémy Martin, Cointreau and Metaxa. In addition, the event also included story telling, videos and tastings. While this was received very well
according to Gebr. Heinemann, perhaps one of the other big highlights of the year was the July 2016 unveiling of Rémy Martin Carte-Blanche n°1 à Baptiste Loiseau – effectively the world première of 7,000 numbered bottles named after the charismatic 36-year old Rémy Martin Cellar Master and creator, Baptiste Loiseau. DFS Group was chosen as the
initial exclusive batch launch partner, with each bottle priced at $400 with the Cognac presented in ‘re-edition’ original Rémy Martin Charentaise bottles (dating back to the 19th century). DFS subsequently rolled the
product out in the larger airports where it holds liquor and tobacco concessions, including Singapore Changi, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, New York JFK and San Francisco. Just for good measure, this Carte-
Rémy Martin Carte Blanche IWSC Gold Award brand was initially made available last year at select DFS stores including Changi, HKIA, LAX New York’s JFK and San Francisco.
MAY 2017
Blanche expression also won a gold award in the 2016 International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC), having been created by Baptiste Loiseau who became Rémy’s Cellar Master at the young age of 34 back in 2014. «
TRBUSINESS 165
One of the up and coming stars in the portfolio is Rémy’s Islay Scotch/spirits business (Bruichladdich/Port Charlotte/Octomore/ The Botanist) with all its brands continuing to deliver strong double-digit growth.
TRBusiness
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