E-Malt.com News article: United Kingdom: InBev UK shelves new product launches amid recession

Recession forces brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev to shelve a raft of new product launches and review the future of its existing brands, Scotland On Sunday posted on April, 19.

Extensions to Beck's and Budweiser brands in the UK have been postponed by the brewer amid fears that cash-strapped consumers are being more conservative in their choices and may be less willing to buy something new.

Stuart MacFarlane, InBev's UK president, said: "We don't think it's right to innovate now. We have had mixed reactions from retailers about innovation. Andy Bond at Asda said the focus was on value and getting back to basics. Consumers are nervous, they are retreating back to big brands."

This month, it emerged that InBev is also exploring the sale of its struggling Rolling Rock brand. Bidders for Labatt USA, which AB InBev struck a deal to divest in to satisfy antitrust concerns, have expressed an interest in buying Rolling Rock.

AB InBev has been willing to consider the sale of Rolling Rock at the right price, but offers were not sufficient and it is not conducting an active sale process to divest the brand. KPS Capital, a US private equity firm, bought Labatt USA in a deal that held $90 mln to $100 mln in value for the Leuven, Belgium-based brewer.

Beer sales in Scotland are now estimated to be at their lowest since the 1940s. The latest industry figures showed beer sales across the UK had dropped 8.3% in the fourth quarter of 2008, the highest fourth-quarter fall since records began in 1997.


22 April, 2009