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Cognac is poured into a glass at the Remy Martin distillery in Cognac, southwestern France, October 8, 2012. As overall cognac sales have recovered from the 2008/09 downturn, discerning Chinese looking for an aspirational tipple are causing a surge in shipments of Remy Martin's 2,500-euro Louis XIII cognac and other deluxe spirits. The trend is good news for Remy Martin, which is much more focused than its rivals on high-end brands, and suggests that a slowdown in China's overall economic growth rate may not dampen the country's appetite for some luxury goods, even if some sectors have sounded warnings. To match Feature COGNAC-REMY/ Picture taken October 8, 2012. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau (FRANCE - Tags: BUSINESS FOOD SOCIETY)
Cognac is poured into a glass at the Remy Martin distillery in Cognac, southwestern France, October 8, 2012. As overall cognac sales have recovered from the 2008/09 downturn, discerning Chinese looking for an aspirational tipple are causing a surge in shipments of Remy Martin's 2,500-euro Louis XIII cognac and other deluxe spirits. The trend is good news for Remy Martin, which is much more focused than its rivals on high-end brands, and suggests that a slowdown in China's overall economic growth rate may not dampen the country's appetite for some luxury goods, even if some sectors have sounded warnings. To match Feature COGNAC-REMY/ Picture taken October 8, 2012. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau (FRANCE - Tags: BUSINESS FOOD SOCIETY)
(REGIS DUVIGNAU/REUTERS)

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Rémy tracks fortunes of China’s big spenders

 — Financial Times

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Target market: gangsta rappers and the Chinese nouveaux riches. How times have changed for cognac, the spirit which used to be the preserve of aging white men. Rémy Cointreau, which released results on Tuesday, has managed both trends nicely. U.S. sales growth was 15 per cent in the first half of the year, but the real star of the show is China, where Rémy’s top-end brands appeal to those who want to show off their wealth. Its Louis XIII brand, which retails at $2,500 (U.S.) per bottle, is selling particularly well. The company has a 60-per-cent share of the premium “extra” segment of the Chinese cognac market.