Rémy Cointreau has joined French peer Pernod Ricard in buying into sustainable logistics platform Ecospirits, despite also announcing a sizable savings drive.
The brand owner, which booked a six-month sales slide of almost 16% last month, has built on its existing relationship with Ecospirits. The pair, which have been working together for two years, have arrangements for several spirits brands, including Cointreau, to use Ecospirits’ reusable container crates in the on-premise channel.
This week, Rémy Cointreau’s RC Ventures venture capital unit, acquired an unspecified stake in Ecospirits. The purchase, the first for the newly-created division, sees the group join Pernod Ricard as an investor. Financial details were not disclosed.
“Ecospirits is … aligned with the fund’s aim of investing in innovative companies with high growth potential that share our vision and values,” said RC Ventures director Celia d’Everlange. “Through its innovative project, Ecospirits is contributing to Rémy Cointreau’s transformation plan, the ‘Sustainable Exception’.”
Also today, Rémy Cointreau announced the roll-out of a “new cost-cutting plan” to the tune of EUR50m (US$52.7m). While more details were not shared, the savings will be implemented during the second half of the company’s current financial year, to the end of March next year.
“The time has come to prepare for recovery,” said CEO Éric Vallat. “We thus plan to begin reintroducing targeted investments in marketing as early as H2, to support peak activity in both the US and China.”
Rémy Cointreau is expecting its full-year sales for fiscal 2025 to finish down by between 15% and 18%.
