The French trade association Comité Champagne is still positive about the future of the sparkling wine despite last year’s poor sales figures, executives said at an annual press conference on Thursday (15 May).
Champagne sales volumes fell by more than 9% last year, declining at home and abroad, according to the Comité Champagne’s figures released in January.
“Champagne continues to strongly invest in the future and remains optimistic, as it has always proved its resilience in tougher times. With over 300 years of history, the sector has lived through many various economic upturns and downturns,” Victoria Henson, director of Comité Champagne’s UK arm told Just Drinks when asked about the trade body’s future outlook on the category.
“Let’s not forget it survived two World Wars – 40% of vineyards were destroyed during the First World War – and whilst we can’t predict the future, we can be sure there will be other challenges where the Champagne sector will continue to adapt and innovate,” Henson added.
In the press conference, the Comité Champagne’s appellation protection and elevation director Gaëlle Jacquet gave a frank assessment of the 2024 figures: “These are not very good results on a year-to-year basis,” she said.
Those disappointing sales, Jacquet added, were the result of a dour consumer mood due to global events: “Champagne is by essence a celebratory wine associated with special occasions,
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By GlobalData“Geo-political and economic impacts have some impacts on champagne consumption. If you don’t have the mood for celebration, you don’t have the mood for Champagne.”
Shipments stood at 271.4m bottles in 2024, down 9.2% compared to 2023 and domestic sales in France shrunk by 7.2% to 118.2m bottles. Exports dropped 10.8% year-on-year, with 153.2m bottles of Champagne sold.
Workers across multiple Champagne houses are also facing a difficult climate. Last Tuesday, over 100 employees from Pernod Ricard and LVMH Champagne houses in Reims, France, went on strike in a spat over wages and job uncertainty.
Staff from the Mumm and Perrier-Jouët vineyards were on the picket line, according to the Champagne branch of the CGT union, demonstrating in front of the gates of the Mumm cellars on rue du Champ de Mars.
Employees from LVMH’s Veuve Clicquot house also took part in a separate demonstration on Tuesday at the group’s Comète site, according to the CGT, in a dispute against the 1,200 jobs reportedly expected to be cut by LVMH across its wine-and-spirits division.
Both LVMH and Pernod Ricard declined to comment on the matter when approached by Just Drinks.
Around 60 employees from Mumm participated in Tueday’s strike, Stéphane Levasseur, secretary of the economic and social committee at Mumm, told Just Drinks.
The reasons driving the stoppage were a failure to increase salaries in annual negotiations (also known as NAO), and the “potential sale of Mumm by Pernod Ricard to another buyer”, Levasseur said.
In February, it was revealed that Pernod Ricard was examining a possible disposal of Mumm.
He added: “There will certainly be other strike movements in the coming weeks and these will be amplified if the sale of Mumm champagne is confirmed.”
