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Spirits commentator Richard Woodard will have been relieved to see the back of The Winter Olympics last weekend. He now has the time to ponder companies' marketing spends... and to run his rule over Pernod Ricard's latest - somewhat risqué - activation for Absolut.

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In early-February, Pernod Ricard reported a 5.1% lift in sales for the six months to the end of December. The top-line had to deal with a strong US dollar, however, with reported sales coming in flat for the period. Here, just-drinks takes a closer look at the company's performance by region - as well as the numbers behind its main brands - in the first half of the group's fiscal-2018.

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Rounding off our series of category forecasts for the year ahead, white spirits commentator Richard Woodard looks at what 2018 has in store for gin, Tequila, rum, vodka ...

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Earlier this week, Bacardi announced its intention to take full control of the Patron Tequila brand. The transaction, which should close before the end of June, sees the high-end Tequila segment leader enter the Bacardi stable. Here, just-drinks looks at the global Tequila category, Patron's position in it, and how the competition should be feeling today.

Last month, the CEO of Pernod Ricard, Alex Ricard, was in London to discuss the group's half-year results. just-drinks sat down with Ricard following the press conference to look at both the numbers for the first six months of fiscal-2017 and Ricard's tenure so far, since assuming the leadership in early-2015. In the first part of our exclusive two-part interview, Alex considers Pernod's positions in India and China and shares his thoughts on pricing and the role it plays in a company's approach to premiumisation.

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Tareef Shawa joined Pernod Ricard in 2014, bringing with him luxury credentials from American Express's invitation-only Centurion division, as well as seven years at LVMH's Louis Vuitton as director of global client development. Speaking to just-drinks in London this week, the group's luxury & customer relationship management director discusses the concept of luxury, its role within Pernod and how to quantify the success of luxury events.

Pernod Ricard has played down the recent slow performance of its Absolut vodka brand in the US, flagging other investment priorities in the country as well as the group’s geographical reach.

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Pernod Ricard has continued its healthy start to fiscal-2018, with sales in the first six months of the year recording a mid-single-digit rise.

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Champagne house Bollinger has named Charles-Armand de Belenet as its new general manager, the appointment taking effect earlier this month.

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The head of marketing for dark spirits at Pernod Ricard's UK unit has called for more innovation around entry-level Cognac. 

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Strong growth in the US has helped drive solid nine-month sales for Pernod Ricard despite continued weakness for Absolut vodka.

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Pernod Ricard is set to roll out a new VS expression of its Martell Cognac brand in the US.

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The CEO of Pernod Ricard has countered suggestions that the group has been over-reliant on its Cognac portfolio in China.

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Diageo's Johnnie Walker brand has consolidated its dominance of Global Travel Retail's spirits shelves, although Pernod Ricard's Absolut has been overtaken by Chivas Regal and Brown-Forman's Jack Daniel's, according to figures from The IWSR.

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Pernod Ricard has announced further details of the new structure of its operations in the US, a market that the group considers key to its medium-term goals.

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Pernod Ricard has released a limited edition bottle for its Martell VS Cognac in the UK off-trade.

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Pernod Ricard has said its Absolut brand is on course to stablise in the US despite continued double-digit sales falls for flavours.

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Beam Suntory has said it aims to make Courvoisier the second biggest-selling Cognac brand in the world with the help of its new marketing campaign.

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The international spirits category in China has embarked on a “new normal”, according to Pernod Ricard, with lower-priced offerings set to drive future growth.

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Pernod Ricard has announced the departure of the managing director of its Asia Travel Retail division, Con Constandis.

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Here's a round-up of this week's highlights in the global spirits & wine categories. We are also running similar round-ups for beer and soft drinks & bottled water.

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Remy Cointreau's Cognac brand Remy Martin has increased its WeChat followers by five-fold in two days after an advertising campaign on the Chinese social media platform.

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Pernod Ricard has secured the services of film actor Diane Kruger as Martell Cognac’s ambassador for the brand’s 300th anniversary celebrations this year.

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Pernod Ricard has announced a spate of executive changes that will see the chief of its Martell Mumm Perrier-Jouet division move to head up operations in Asia.

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Pernod Ricard's Cognac brand Martell is marking its 300th anniversary this year. Last week, Andy Morton visited Martell's biggest distillery, Gallienne, in Cognac to speak with Martell brand ambassador Hugo Gallimard and check out the mood ahead of a year of celebrations.

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Here's a round-up of this week's highlights in the global spirits & wine categories. We are also running similar round-ups for beer and soft drinks & bottled water.

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Here's a look at what was happening on this day in...

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Pernod Ricard has opened the order book on a limited edition Martell Cognac that comes with a EUR10,000 price tag.