Financial year 2020/2021 will always be associated with the global health crisis.
In these extraordinary circumstances, the House’s performance varied by region, but confirmed Rémy Martin’s solidity and the relevance of our long-term value strategy.
The difficult context showcased the resilient culture of the House and its men and women by challenging our agility and adaptability. Most projects were successfully completed, such as the construction of our new administrative building in Merpins, called "Assemblage", which began to fulfil its purpose of "assembling" or gathering employees in May 2021.
By changing everyone’s outlook on the world, the health situation confirmed the relevance and bolstered the power of our vision of luxury for the House: "Sustainable Exception" that respects the environment and people.
Today more than ever, Corporate Social Responsibility courses through our veins and constitutes the lifeblood of the House. Like our distillery at Juillac-le-Coq, launched in 2018 on a gravity-assisted site – one that is environmentally friendly while also producing high-quality eaux-de-vie – we strive to make all our decisions through the lens of protecting people and our terroirs.
To this end, we have developed a training programme – the We Care Academy – which aims to instil all Rémy Martin employees with a CSR attitude to achieve our carbon reduction targets, in particular. A corporate project inspired by the Rémy Martin "Team up for the Future" campaign was created to transform our working methods at the deepest level: establishment of a project rating system, making eco-design a strict requirement, developing shared-value projects in our markets, and more.
Upstream, the roll-out of High Environmental Value certifications to our Alliance Fine Champagne winegrowing partners continued, with 35 "Centaurs of the Environment" awards presented to newly certified partners. This fourth award ceremony was held under the patronage of the French Minister of Agriculture, Mr Julien Denormandie, who honoured us by coming to observe the innovative practices of the House during a tour of our Juillac-le-Coq facility in March 2021.
This support is a highly symbolic recognition of our commitment and a powerful encouragement for our business. The House of Rémy Martin continues to play a leading role and to move the region forward. We have set ourselves ambitious targets: 70% of certified partner areas in 2024, and 100% in 2028.
Through HVE certification, the House encourages the principle of continuous improvement of our ecological farming practices, and the consideration of climate change. It tries to push back the limits, day after day, through full-scale experiments in the Estates – whether with resistant grape varieties or through biocontrol (the Biocontrol and Ecosystem Balance project, a new experiment in the Charente region, carried out as part of the Ecophyto 2 plan).
Downstream, the long-term value strategy requires maintaining strong investments to enhance the brand awareness and luxury positioning of our House and the two brands comprising it – Rémy Martin and Louis XIII – with the strong determination to remain as close as possible to our clients.
