Hennessy Cognac intends to double its profits in 10 years

t a press briefing on 9 June, Hennessy CEO Laurent Boillot said he was very satisfied with 2020. The year ended with an exceptional harvest, purchases of brandy at a higher average price and good consolidated sales volumes. “We only fell by 4% compared to 2019, a record year”.

The US market was a major contributor to the results, growing by 26% despite the closure of bars and restaurants. It offset the decline in sales in the first half of the year to China and the sharp decline in travel retail at airports and on ferries. And market indicators for 2021 are positive. “We are going to capitalise on President Biden's recovery plan”, said Boillot, “and the three-year partnership we have just signed with the American basketball league (NBA)”.

As a reminder, said Boillot, the NBA has 900 million fans, including 200 million in China. E-commerce sales of Cognac in China soared by 40 %, and Hennessy is the brand that managed to most successfully leverage growth in the channel with a 60 % increase. It will continue to focus on e-commerce. To recruit consumers among the 175 million under 30s, the brand has also invested in social media, spearheaded by TikTok.

Similarly, it is aiming to cash in on the development of duty free on the island of Hainan, a “Chinese-style Saint Tropez” that is due to welcome 76 million travellers by 2028. At global level, Hennessy's objective is to double its profits in the next 10 years. Even if the French market only represents one percent of its turnover, the firm intends to ramp up its performance domestically, particularly in Paris and Cognac, and to become the undisputed leader in the most exclusive brandy segment to attract visitors from across the globe.