- Sales for three months to end of June up 0.5% to EUR45.3m (US$52.1m)
- First-half sales dip by 4.4% to EUR84m (US$96.7m)
- France rebounds as William Peel regains retail listings
Marie Brizard Wine & Spirits recovered some ground in the second quarter of 2026 after a difficult start to the year, with sales essentially flat thanks to improved trading in its home market of France.
First-half sales were, however, still down by more than 4%, thanks to the near-10% slump recorded in the first three months of the year. The flat second quarter came after a 13.7% dip in the same period of 2025.
Sales in France were up 6% in Q2, although the company’s off-trade business was reportedly “curtailed” by the slow recovery in sales of blended scotch William Peel, which suffered retail delistings in 2025.
Marie Brizard put growth for the French group’s namesake liqueurs and Sobieski vodka down to NPD, and domestic business was also boosted by the company’s new rum agency contracts. In March, it was announced that Marie Brizard would distribute Nicaraguan rum brand Flor de Caña in the French market.
Outside France, ‘international’ sales declined by 3.1% in the second quarter – an improvement on the first three months of the year – leaving an H1 decline of 8.3%, driven by double-digit falls in Lithuania, Bulgaria and Brazil.
Sales held up well in the US – rising by 12% in the second quarter – thanks to good performances from Marie Brizard and Gautier cognac, offset by a decline for Sobieski. Spain’s second-quarter recovery was led by what the company described as “the Q1 catch-up effect in ‘Industrial Services’”.
In its commentary on the results, Marie Brizard highlighted the impact of “adverse macroeconomic and geopolitical trends” on the spirits market, which had led to “increased volatility”, necessitating greater agility and responsiveness.
