China Market Shows Signs of Recovery as Rémy Cointreau’s Sales Rise 15.5% in Q4

French spirits group Rémy Cointreau is finally seeing signs of relief.

The company’s latest earnings suggest that, after spending much of fiscal year 2025-26 under pressure from shrinking business consumption in China, anti-dumping investigations and disruptions in the duty-free channel, its cognac business returned to double-digit growth in the fourth quarter. The rebound was driven in part by the Lunar New Year consumption season and an unusually weak comparison base from the previous year.

For China’s premium imported spirits market — which has faced sustained pressure in recent years — the recovery could offer an early sign that the category is beginning to stabilise.

Rémy Cointreau reported sales of €935.3 million (approximately US$1.01 billion) for fiscal year 2025-26, which covered the period from April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026.

On an organic basis, sales rose 0.2% year-on-year. On a reported basis, however, revenue declined 5%, largely due to currency fluctuations involving the U.S. dollar and Chinese yuan, which had a negative foreign exchange impact of 5.2%.

China Weakness Continued to Weigh on Results

Sales in the Asia-Pacific region declined 4.3% organically during the fiscal year, primarily due to weak consumer sentiment in China and disruptions in the travel retail channel during the first half.

Excluding China travel retail, the group’s organic sales growth would have been 1%.

Rémy Cointreau’s performance remains closely tied to China. Its flagship cognac brand, Rémy Martin, together with Pernod Ricard’s Martell and LVMH’s Hennessy, has long been part of the “Big Three” imported cognac brands dominating China’s premium spirits market.

In 2025, however, the major cognac houses broadly faced two key headwinds: the continued contraction of business entertainment spending and uncertainty stemming from China’s anti-dumping investigation into European brandy imports. The investigation led some distributors to adopt a wait-and-see approach toward inventory purchases.

At the same time, China’s duty-free channel also experienced significant disruption. As previously reported by Vino Joy News, customs clearance issues involving brandy imports emerged in early 2025. Chinese customs data reviewed by Vino Joy News showed that brandy imports through duty-free channels effectively dropped to zero between January and June 2025 before reappearing later in the year.

Given China’s importance as a core market for Rémy Martin cognac, these developments weighed heavily on the group’s overall performance.

Fourth-Quarter Recovery

Still, Rémy Cointreau’s latest earnings indicate that market conditions in China began improving toward the end of the fiscal year.

The company said its cognac division recorded 15.5% organic growth in the fourth quarter, driven mainly by strong performance in Asia-Pacific, with China serving as the primary growth engine.

While market conditions remained challenging, the group said lower year-on-year comparison figures and resilient Lunar New Year demand helped support cognac sales in China.

The performance broadly aligns with import data and market feedback observed in China. In the first quarter of 2026, China’s brandy imports rose 125.54% in volume and 198.22% in value year-on-year, reaching 5.51 million litres and US$170.4 million respectively.

Industry sources also suggested that part of the rebound reflected recovery from exceptionally weak levels in 2025 rather than a full return to previous demand patterns.

One importer familiar with the market previously told Vino Joy News that the recent growth was largely driven by the low base effect from the prior year.

In China, Rémy Martin cognac remains closely tied to business banquets and gifting occasions. The January-to-February period, which includes both the New Year and Lunar New Year holidays, is traditionally one of the strongest sales seasons for premium cognac in the country, helping support the brand’s fourth-quarter recovery.

Japan Helps Drive Growth in Liqueurs and Spirits Division

Beyond cognac, Rémy Cointreau also reported improving momentum in parts of its liqueurs and spirits portfolio across Asia.

The company’s Liqueurs & Spirits division posted mid-single-digit growth in Asia-Pacific, with sales now more than 55% above fiscal year 2019-20 levels.

The division still accounts for only 13% of the group’s sales mix in Asia, significantly lower than in the Americas and EMEA regions.

In China, the segment recorded strong double-digit growth in the fourth quarter, led primarily by Bruichladdich, while Cointreau also contributed to growth.

However, on a full-year basis, value depletions in China still declined at a high-single-digit rate.

Elsewhere in Asia, the group recorded low-single-digit fourth-quarter growth led by Japan, where both Bruichladdich and Cointreau delivered solid performances.