Month: April 2018

Last week, while visiting an account in the Texas Hill Country, I along with the other customers in a local restaurant noticed that our phone emails had crashed.  In addition, we were unable to use our credit cards to pay for our purchases because all the terminals in the restaurant also were also down.  This […]

Schlitz died when senior management decided to maximize profits by using chemical additives that changed the flavor and look of the beer.  Schlitz’s white knight was Stroh’s but the heavy debt, along with the lack of senior management leadership, led that venture to also close and sell out. Heileman Brewing Co., under the leadership of […]

When Krombacher decided to export to the U.S., their target markets were New York, Chicago and LA.  After appointing a New York distributor in 2011, and working through the necessary details, the brand was launched with some small success.  As with many imports from other countries, the plan was to first acquire distribution in the low […]

Constellation Beers’ 2018 numbers are nothing short of remarkable, especially considering the state of the rest of the beer industry.  Constellation’s beer business grew depletions by 9.8% for the year; shipments were a step behind, up 8.8%.; and net sales grew by double digits, up 10.1%. Overall, Constellation’s operating income was up 19.8%. Beer Business Daily […]

As discussed in past articles, when I took over the Schlitz operation in 1981, the territory included a number of counties in far south Texas. Three of these counties did 95% of the volume.  In those counties, I had nine wholesalers competing within the same area: one Budweiser, one Miller, two Coors, two Lone Star, […]