- Sales in final three months of 2024 decline 4.6% to EUR47.6m (US$49.8m)
- France up 1.1% in Q4, ‘international’ slides 9%
- Full-year sales at -2.8%, EUR188.4m
A slight pick-up in its fourth-quarter performance domestically for Marie Brizard Spirits & Wine has failed to prevent the France-based group finishing 2024 down on the year prior.
The Sobieski vodka and William Peel scotch whisky owner said late yesterday that sales in the three months to the end of December fell back by approaching 5%. The quarter undid Q3’s 1.3% sales rise and was closer to the near-7% slide recorded in the first quarter of last year.
For the full 12-month period, Marie Brizard’s top line dipped by 2.8%.
While the group admitted its sales at home were helped by the addition of an unspecified bourbon to its agency brands portfolio, all of its ‘strategic international brands’ were positive in France in the closing quarter, with the exception of William Peel. Indeed, the blended scotch had a tough 2024 in the country, particularly in its off-premise channel – specific figures, however, were not disclosed.
The company had the following warning for the year ahead: “If the current trend in the spirits market (in France) continues into 2025,” it said, “this environment will have to be addressed in the context of the very strong impact of inflation on the cost of aged spirits, distilled and produced during the recent period of inflation, which in France will mainly affect … William Peel … .”
Overseas, the ‘international cluster’ results in both the quarter and the full year were disappointing, down 9% in the former and 5.5% in 2024. A steadfast showing by Sobieski in the US, where group sales dipped 1.9% for the year, was undone by “a sharp fall in shipments of the Marie Brizard brand”. Asia Pacific offered some respite as the period wore on. “Growth that had begun in the third quarter was confirmed at the end of the year,” the company noted. “The significant increase in the fourth quarter reflects Marie Brizard’s strong growth in Japan and South Korea.”
“The beginning of 2025 has been characterised by the continued slowdown in the wine and spirits markets, coupled with limited and volatile commercial visibility in a sector that could also be affected by the possibility of new customs tariffs increases,” Marie Brizard concluded. “In this context, the group remains vigilant and continues to focus on its strategic development priorities … while remaining attentive to the elasticity of consumer demand in the design of its commercial offer.”
Marie Brizard Wine & Spirits’ official Q4 & FY 2024 results announcement
