Month: July 2015

  • The status quo sucks.

    Schlitz had a market share of about 40% in the 1980s when Stroh took over the brand in my market. I was definitely aware of the quality problems Schlitz was having on a national basis.  In spite of those concerns, I felt that at worst Schlitz could maintain a 20% market share. Schlitz had been either […]

  • In any investment, you expect to have fun and make money.

    As a young District Manager in the early 1970s, Lone Star Brewing Co. relocated me to Lubbock, Texas.  The market I had been assigned to worked with distributorships in Amarillo, El Paso, Midland/Odessa, San Angelo, Abilene and Wichita Falls.  There were also operations in smaller markets including Brownwood, Pecos and Priddy, Texas! The distributor in […]

  • Happy Anniversary…….. Year 3

    This post begins the fourth year of BeerBusinessUnplugged, and as promised, I would like to comment on what has taken place over the past year. In the last 12 months, the weekly subscribers have continued to increase and readership surpassed 50,000 hits.  I have truly enjoyed publishing and hearing back from each of you, including both the positive and the negative comments.  Please continue […]

  • You can’t try to be authentic. You either are or you aren’t.

    In 1997, Gambrinus landed the importing rights for the US market to distribute Moosehead Beer from Canada.  At the time, Gambrinus handled Modelo only in the eastern part of the US, so the company had to build an infrastructure for the western states. Moosehead was still enjoying some popularity with the younger demographic consumers due […]