U.S. Spirits Sales Trends Show Modest Improvement, Morgan Stanley Reports

U.S. retail alcohol sales trends saw a modest improvement in the four weeks ending July 25, with spirits demand showing signs of stabilization, according to a new Morgan Stanley report. The analysis, based on NielsenIQ data, suggests a shifting landscape for major beverage companies as consumer habits evolve.

Retail Trends Stabilize

Morgan Stanley noted that overall alcohol sales trends improved modestly during the period. The firm attributed some of the strength in spirits to consumption during the latter part of the FIFA Club World Cup.

Conversely, beer sales remained subdued in the off-trade channels tracked by NielsenIQ. The report suggested that consumption related to the tournament was likely skewed toward on-premise locations like bars and restaurants, which are not captured in this retail sales data.

Performance Among Spirits Makers

The report highlighted divergent performances among the major European spirits companies, with some showing significant improvement while others lost momentum.

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• Campari: Showed one of the strongest improvements, with U.S. sales down 1.4% year-over-year, a marked recovery from the 4.2% decline seen over the previous 12 weeks.
• Rémy Cointreau: Sales fell 3.4%, an improvement from the 4.3% drop over the prior 12-week period, while broadly maintaining its volume market share.
• Pernod Ricard: U.S. spirits sales declined 7.0%, showing a better trend compared to the 12-week decline of 7.4%.
• Diageo: U.S. spirits sales fell 9.5%, slightly weaker than its 12-week trend of a 9.3% decline. The company continued to lose market share in both value and volume.
• Moët Hennessy: Sales declined 2.1%, indicating weaker momentum compared to the 0.6% decline recorded over the previous 12 weeks.

Beer Market Dynamics

Major brewers also saw improving sales trends, though the overall market remained soft in retail channels. Anheuser-Busch InBev's U.S. beer sales fell 3.2% year-over-year, an improvement from a 4.2% decline over the 12-week period, allowing the brewer to gain both value and volume market share.

Heineken's U.S. beer sales declined 7.6%, which was better than the 12-week trend of an 8.6% decline. However, Morgan Stanley noted that despite the improved sales figures, the brewer continued to lose a modest amount of market share.