Welcome in, today is Tuesday, August fourth, and we begin with Reuters on the shrinking returns from Diageo's partnership with Moët Hennessy. Reuters reports that Diageo's decades-old alliance with Moët Hennessy has delivered shrinking returns and, at times, friction, adding to the challenges facing new chief executive Dave Lewis. Per that reporting, company filings show the alliance produced a four hundred fifty-five million dollar share of profit in the year to June twenty twenty-three. By twenty twenty-five that had more than halved, to two hundred nineteen million. The same account says joint distribution arrangements have cost Diageo money, growth and market share in markets such as France, where the joint venture was terminated last year at a cost of one hundred forty-five million dollars, mostly in termination fees. Eight ventures remain, six of them managed by Moët Hennessy, which leaves a route-to-market pillar for two of the largest spirits groups under scrutiny. Diageo and LVMH declined to comment. Some in the trade read the strain as one visible edge of a wider demand problem in spirits. Lewis unveils his turnaround plans on August sixth. Staying with Diageo. Just Drinks reports that hundreds of jobs have been put at risk of redundancy across the company's distilleries in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, according to a local trade union. That summary is the extent of what has been reported, with no site list or timetable attached. Cost discipline reaching into distillery capacity, rather than head-office headcount, is a different order of decision in Scotch's production heartland. Industry reaction leans skeptical that another round of cuts addresses the underlying issue, with a recurring view that years of cost reduction should have left the business lean by now, and that the problem may be structural. A parallel concern is the knock-on effect on the rural communities those sites support. Now a development in India. Following our earlier report on the food safety regulator barring several whisky and rum products over flavouring, United Spirits has gone to court. Mint reports the Diageo India unit filed a writ petition in the Bombay High Court on August first, challenging an FSSAI order that restricted sale of a product made at its Baramati unit in Maharashtra. Per that reporting, the company says its labels comply with the current regulatory framework and reflect long-standing industry practice, and that the order carries no material operational or financial implications. It declined further comment with the matter sub judice. The same account says Associated Alcohols and Breweries has signalled it will also seek relief, and that the trade bodies CIABC and ISWAI have taken the issue up with the regulator. What the court decides reaches formulation practice across IMFL, not one plant. Also today, more on India's trade-up story, following our earlier coverage of Royal Stag reaching the top of global whisky. Mint reports luxury is now one of the few growth pockets in a slowing market, with Diageo India, Allied Blenders, Radico Khaitan and Tilaknagar launching or planning single malts, tequila, Scotch and imported wines priced from about three thousand five hundred to twenty-seven thousand five hundred rupees a bottle. The argument leans on IWSR data cited in that account. Total spirits volumes grew at a three percent compound rate between twenty nineteen and twenty twenty-five, while premium expanded twenty-two percent and prestige-plus fifty-three. Executives quoted there describe a consumer choosing to drink better while drinking no more, which puts the growth case on mix rather than volume. Turning to agave. Becle says it is too early to tell whether tequila inventories and demand in the United States are starting to normalise, according to Just Drinks. That summary carries the assessment rather than the figures behind it. A leading producer declining to call the turn leaves the timing of a US restock unresolved for anyone planning shipments. A recurring concern in the channel is that trade-policy uncertainty, not demand alone, is shaping inventory behaviour, with some arguing tariff-related stockpiling is manageable for large producers but a squeeze on smaller distillers. Now, a few more headlines moving the trade today. Following our earlier coverage of the RNDC wind-down, court filings show more than four hundred million dollars in unsecured debts, The Drinks Business reports. Diageo has confirmed the hire of Sujay Wasan to lead its Asia Pacific business, according to The Spirits Business. Compagnia del Gusto Holding has entered the UK wine trade, buying Jascots Wine Merchants from Freixenet Copestick, per Drinks International and Just Drinks. The Spirits Business reports Chinese brewer Tsingtao plans a production facility in China and Irish whiskey made with Great Northern Distillery. And finally, Endeavour Group is selling most of its winery assets, including Chapel Hill Estate in McLaren Vale, in a restructuring focused on the brands and regions generating the strongest returns, according to The Drinks Business.