Roch Hennessy, head of business development in China, for Hennessy was in Nigeria recently to mark the 200 years anniversary of Hennessy VSOP (Very Superior Old Pale). The Hennessy VSOP Privilege Cognac is one of the 22 brands of the company and perhaps the most popular in the emerging markets. It was first launched in 1818 and it is the gradual blend of about 60 eau de vie taken from the Cognac region, in France.
Roch had a chat with BusinessDay’s Frank Eleanya over the growth of the brand in the Nigerian market and what it took the company to build its very popular cognac.
Tells us about your journey so far with the Hennessy brand
I have different passions. I have worked in aviation and in luxury goods as well for other brands. I was given a specific role when I started working with Hennessy, the role of business developer in China and other commercial strategic parts in the country. So I am not an ambassador like Maurice is. I am doing something different and it is really unique that we are here, the both of us. It is not my job to go travel around the world.
You recently launched a new plant in Southwest France to serve demand in the US and China, how far has it gone to help improve the problem of logistics?
Hennessy invests a lot in its production and quality control capacities. Just in October 2017, we opened up a new plant which is a state of the art bottling plant. That plant will help us achieve the objective of 10 million cases worldwide. The plant currently is working a full capacity because we put everything up to speed. The idea is to produce the cognac to supply the demand in the US, Asia and new markets like Africa.
We gave ourselves a tool to achieve our target. In terms of logistics, everything is state-of-the-art. There are robots deployed at the factory and a lot of people to maintain the robots and control what they are doing. Everything is mostly done automatically in the factory. It does optimise our production. It is important especially when you have a big target and a big goal, you need to give yourself the means to make them happen.
The Hennessy legacy was handed down to you and Morris by the earlier generation. Do you often feel the weight of history with regards to passing it on to other generations?
The history is really amazing, from 1765 the founding of the company by Richard Hennessy. First it was a family business, now it is not a family business anymore. There was a merger recently with the world’s largest luxury goods company – Louis Vuitton. So it just happens that we are two members of the Hennessy family working for Hennessy and doing different things. But it is true that it is a thing of pride and a responsibility because we know we carry the name. We want to give the best to the company. We want the company to prosper and we want the people that work for the company to prosper as well. We also want the entire region of Cognac to prosper too. It is definitely with great sense of responsibility, pride and involvement that we do our work. The history is something we do not want to stop, we want to always celebrate.
How well have you combined tradition and latest developments in technology to move the business ahead?
Cognac is dealing with something that comes from the earth, something very traditional that people have been making for centuries. They have been making it with a specific know-how or skills and technique. On the modernity side, it is how we can help the traditional side to evolve and still retain its high value. For instance, you are talking of keeping a library of eau de vie data so that our master blenders can use. They have been using this big data forever. Now everything is on the computer and on cloud. That is a good interaction with modern technology. it is the same thing with the stock and inventory and a lot of other things. It always has to be the service of tradition and quality.
How are you contending with the emergence of new markets?
Everything depends on Mother Nature. We are fortunate to have the oldest and largest stock of eau de vie. We have more than 400,000 barrels of eau de vie, some of them are aging because they are still going to be used in the future. Some of them are being used right now. So we have the necessary tool. But we cannot guarantee – again we are dealing with Mother Nature. We are prepared with the best of our abilities right now, with the current climate, production and stock. Nobody really can tell what the future is going to be. I can check my phone and see a message telling me that there was a big thunder storm and I lost 20 percent of my production. What can I do about it? There is so much we can do. We have to continue to make people appreciate how special Cognac is.
What is the best way to check disasters in production?
You need to think about two things, you need to produce and keep for later as well. Do not get me wrong, we have had some amazing years. 2015 was one of them. We had a record production, it was amazing. But 2016 had this hailstorm that was horrible – the same with 2017 which came with storms. We are hoping that 2018 will be a really good year. But you can never know until late May and beginning of June.
You have about 22 products in the market, what informs the decision for a new product?
We have had different formats of bottle and brands like VS, and VSOP. VS stands for Very Special while VSOP is from Very Superior Old Pale. We are not present with the entire range in a particular market. And we do not tell consumers what to drink. If we find in any market there is no need to launch the product there, we do not. It is really about what the market demands. It is a key insight for success, to identify what the consumer likes and what the consumer wants and not what it needs. We adapt our response to this intelligence. We are not present with all the products everywhere.
Has there been a market that did not accept any range of your products?
Every country we have been, we were able to first identify a need. We gauge what the interest is in every market. In some markets, some consumers do not like premium spirits, they may like white spirits or beer or something else. We are really humble to not go there. But for countries like Nigeria where there is a real appetite and interest for premium brand spirits especially Hennessy, we are happy to oblige. We invest and go in.
What goes into building a successful product like Hennessy VSOP from 1818 to 2018?
First it is a need. It was a special order from a king’s region – the King of England. At the time, the end of 19th century there was a need for the product. The King demanded for the VSOP because he wanted it in his collection. The market demanded for the VSOP Cognac. Hence the secret to have longevity of brands is to provide a specific answer to a need in the market. You have to give what the consumer wants. Add quality in the forefront. We have also been very involved with the brand. We have a new tasting platform with ice cubes and mixing it with soft drinks too after cocktails. But if we had left it to be drank in the old school style of drink and cigar, I think it would have died.
