The Europe, Middle East and Africa region was affected by the public health crisis overall. Here, the closure of bars and restaurants was not offset by a rise in at-home mixology, as in the United States. The United Kingdom alone followed this trend.
Although the UK market also experienced a sharp decline in the on-trade sector, this was immediately offset by an unprecedented acceleration in retail and e-commerce sales. Cointreau and Mount Gay, in particular, had a record year. Cointreau’s partnership with Channel Four to sponsor the Friday Night In show was very effective and garnered widespread attention for the Margarita recipe.
In Africa and the Middle East, the pandemic affected all sales channels. Rémy Cointreau’s teams had to show agility: online sales sites were launched in South Africa, Kenya and Dubai; Zoom tasting and food pairing sessions in South Africa also drew many Louis XIII customers, wine lovers and art collectors; and in India, online tastings organised with whisky clubs boosted Bruichladdich’s reputation among connoisseurs.
Thus, despite a very challenging environment in this part of the world, the Group continued to invest in preparing for recovery and the future.
With the collapse of international air travel (-75% in 2020), Travel Retail has felt the full onslaught of the public health crisis. In China, however, the duty-free allowance increase for Chinese citizens visiting the Hainan free-trade port has created a new duty-free market with great potential. The same is true in South Korea and Taiwan, with the rise in domestic flights to the islands of Jeju, Penghu and Kinmen.
Travel Retail initiatives have focused primarily on Hainan Island, which offers strategic opportunities for Rémy Martin and Louis XIII, from airports to luxury shopping centres.
Due to the travel bans, the online platforms that were developed to replace team travel will be maintained after the health crisis in order to reduce the carbon footprint.
Visibility on duty-free sales for 2021/2022 remains low. Nevertheless, the Group will continue to invest in preparing the recovery of this important and strategic channel.
