Late last month, Pernod Ricard’s Martell Mumm Perrier-Jouët division took Global Drinks Intel to Cognac for the unveiling of L’Or de Jean Martell Réserve du Château Chanteloup. Martell’s brand manager in global travel retail, Jon Yau, agreed to answer some questions.
Global Drinks Intel: How important is the global travel retail channel for the Martel brand?
Jon Yau, Martell brand manager for GTR: I can’t share specific numbers, but GTR is the second largest market for Martell after China. So, we’re really important to the brand.
GDI: Who do you define as Martell’s competition in GTR?
JY: There are only a few big cognac houses, so the key category players include Hennessy and Rémy Martin. Overall in the ultra-prestige segment, we’ve seen a lot of high-aged and special-edition single malts launch recently. We’re watching them closely.
GDI: Are there areas of the Martell portfolio that are more important in GTR than others?
JY: Our top-selling expression in GTR is Cordon Bleu. While Martell has a portfolio ranging from its recruitment expression to the core offering to ultra-prestige products – we also have different SKUs to those available in domestic markets – I wouldn’t say there’s any product that’s not as important as another.
GDI: Which geographical areas are proving successful for Martel in GTR?
JY: Chinese travellers are the most important consumers for the cognac category. That’s why we’ve seen success in Asian locations, such as China, Hainan, Singapore and Thailand. Outside of Asia, there are also some key locations, including Paris and Dubai, that are very important in terms of reaching high net worth individuals.
GDI: You’ve not mentioned North America.
JY: Martell Blue Swift has been well received in the US, but in GTR, the Asia region has been our focus. We are seeing some developments in other markets, but right now the focus is still on Asia.
GDI: How has Martel performed in GTR over the last 12 months, when the cognac category has been having a tough time?
JY: That’s true, but because we’ve been coming out from the pandemic and we’ve seen the strong recovery of travellers globally, Martell’s shown great resilience in travel retail.
In Pernod Ricard’s latest financial reports, travel retail performed, well despite the global economic softening. We believe that resilience will continue in the overall business environment.
GDI: You’ve just launched the Château Chanteloup bottling from L’Or de Jean Martell Réserve – Tell us about L’Or in GTR.
JY: We want to reinforce Martell’s image as a luxury cognac brand. That’s why we’ve been working in the ultra-prestige segment. With Château Chanteloup, we want to create collectability through the upgrade of the existing blend. We’re injecting a lot of new ideas into this area of the category.
We also have the annual zodiac edition of L’Or de Jean Martell, which is very relevant to the Chinese and Asian consumer. Overall, the L’Or franchise is rare and collectable – We expect cognac lovers to really enjoy them.
GDI: You’re only getting around 5% allocation of Château Chanteloup for GTR.
JY: The majority of the volume will go into Asia’s domestic markets. This is still a new collection in global travel retail, so we’ll see how it performs in the channel. It might change for us in the future.
GDI: L’Or de Jean Martell Réserve du Château Chanteloup is ‘only’ US$7,200. That doesn’t sound very expensive for a 1,000-unit line.
JY: Right now, I imagine this will be a new collection. We’ll observe the market performance and consumer perception. Then we’ll optimise our strategy going forward.
GDI: Would you have preferred it to be more expensive?
JY: If the consumer really wants the product and is willing to pay a higher price, then we’ll be happy to see that!
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