The first quarter of Diageo’s fiscal year reflected “continued market softness,” the company said Thursday. Lewis, who became CEO at the beginning of the year, said the company has stepped up investment in Crown Royal, Smirnoff and Captain Morgan after identifying them as brands losing market share. The spending is going toward marketing, sponsorships and new formats, including canned premixed drinks.

Diageo’s North American results remained mixed. Don Julio tequila and Casamigos continued to post sharp declines, and the company said a quality issue with Casamigos packaging hurt its ready-to-drink products. Johnnie Walker, Guinness stout and Smirnoff Ice, however, recorded higher sales in the region. Diageo said North American sales are likely to fall over the full year, though its brands should recover some market share compared with a year earlier.

The company has faced weaker U.S. demand as consumers cut back for health and financial reasons, while competition has intensified. AJ Bell’s markets head Dan Coatsworth said Diageo’s renewed focus beyond the high end appeared to be working, but warned that changing drinking habits among younger people could weigh on demand over the longer term.

North America’s decline was offset by organic growth in EMEA, Asia-Pacific and India. Total quarterly sales rose 1.4% organically to $4.93 billion, against analysts’ average estimate for a 0.4% decline to $4.805 billion. Diageo maintained its full-year guidance: organic sales are expected to be flat, while operating profit is forecast to rise by a single-digit percentage, supported in part by Lewis’s $1 billion cost-savings program. Lewis described the quarter as “a small step in the right direction.”