AB U.S. Sales VP to liquor stores: pilot new craft beers in wine section
One tidbit in Anheuser Busch’s grand plan to move the pendulum back from craft toward premiums like Bud and Bud Light….
[…] you don’t want to have one turn a week sitting on your shelf especially if you’re doing it at the expense of a six-turn premium brand with 20% margin.” But what about all that variety that people want? Don’t you drive away shoppers if you don’t have that new chocolate stout? “We recommend piloting new items on a warm rack in the wine section because the craft and the wine shopper have similar profiles. […]
Isn’t that kind of like taking a television show that airs in prime time and suddenly moving it to daytime?
via Beer Business Daily (subscription only).
Breweries: Anheuser-Busch
This is absolutely insane and goes against everything wholesalers have been fighting for/against for years.
Adam, do you have a link to the full interview? The link posted goes to BBD’s homepage only. I’d love to read the full thing.
It’s subscription only. $300 a year if I recall correctly. Unfortunately, I cannot share more of the article than I have.
Ah, gotcha. Thanks
They talk out of both sides of thier mouth…carry the top 4 skus from a craft brand only…what about Bud 7oz, 8oz, 12oz 6pk can, 6pk bottle, 12pk can 12pk bottle,18pk can, 20pk bottle, 24pk bottle, 24pk can, 30pk can, 16oz can and bottle, 18oz bottle, 22oz bottle 24oz can 32oz bottle 40 oz bottle…keep creating more sizes of the same thing to occupy shelf space to keep competition away and keep the #’s from sliding down quicker than they are.
AB InBev are such Douche Bags I may actually stop drinking Goose Island Bourbon County Stouts and their Lolita – all of which I love dearly.
That’s business, and YES! A brand must pay for shelf space…..no matter what….craft beers absolutely has the $to pay, knowing there profit margins, if a brand can’t compete w the big boys…then they shouldn’t be there…..
@jt
Are you serious?! What do you mean “craft brands have to pay”?!
That is ridiculous.
No one has to pay. Brands demonstrate their worthiness on a shelf by #of turns and profit.
Furthermore, the avg macro brand calls for 5-20%, with a rather small dollar profit; as compared to the avg craft brand at 30% with a much higher dollar profit per sku.
Craft does pay, by putting more $ into the till and into the bottom line.
The warm shelf is equal to death, esp considering most craft beers are unpasteurized and temp controlled from the time they get to retail, and hopefully beyond.
Put macro warm in the back corner of the store. Simple space mgmt 101…full lesson to follow
@ Beer Jon- well said
@JT it may be business …but it’s not good business!
Right on Marty!!! I have been griping about this for years. I tell the distributors I do not want 20 sku’s of 1 beer because it turns my cooler into a BMC Billboard…
AB/ Inbev simply doesn’t get it. AB got huge because there simply wasn’t much out there to compete w them for so long.
I have a suggestion for them. Stop w the gimmicks (Higher alcohol content “rice water” that they purport to be beer and labeling it Platinum. What are we? Rappers???), stop sinking millions and millions of dollars into researching the best way to combat craft beer, stop trying to have the coolest commercial during the Superbowl every year. Do one simple thing… Make Decent Beer. UNtil you do, you will continue to be baffled by your “inexplicable” market share decline. Oh, and while you’re at it AB, maybe you can hire a few hundred less ivy league chemists and a few more Brewmeisters. Just a thought.
Yeah and those “six turns” are under 23 for the most part and that’s ALL they buy, besides Doritos and a pack of condoms. Whereas craft beer buyers will probably buy more of the high margin stuff. And once they find craft beers warm on the wine rack, you’ve lost a customer.
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