from Mike Teague, sales director, Bavaria UK
Sir; I have read with interest the reports of Interbrew’s intention to raise the price of Stella Artois by above the level of inflation in 2005 (‘Brewer hits back’, The Grocer, December 4, p69). I applaud off trade boss Stuart MacFarlane for standing up to those retailers that seem intent on pricing beer lower each year.
He claims his beer is a premium product and, rightly so, should be priced as such. It should also go some way to convincing the consumer to buy premium lager on the merit of its taste and quality rather than whether it is cheap or not. This is certainly something Bavaria UK supports. As a smaller player in the premium lager market it can be difficult to match the price cuts of the larger brands.
However, it remains to be seen whether this promise of higher prices for Stella will ring true next Christmas.
This year the industry has been subjected to massive price slashes to woo the consumer. Some have tried to counter this by promoting crates containing fewer standard bottles (20x330ml) or crates containing smaller bottles (24x300ml) so consumers think they are getting value for money. I think this is a worrying trend - where
to next? Smaller bottles per crate year-on-year so brewers can match price slashes demanded by the retailers? Consumers will soon get wise to this tactic and may feel they’re not getting value for money.
With crazy price wars happening every Christmas and during the summer months, it will be interesting to see if Interbrew stands firm and maintains its higher prices for Stella Artois. I hope so. Bigger players such as Stella are influencers. Arguably, the premium lager market has been vastly devalued by supermarket price wars. Hopefully the stand taken by Interbrew will help to distinguish the premium products from standard ones. It will also help smaller, more niche, premium brands to achieve more shelf space.
, providing increased choice for the consumer.
Sir; I have read with interest the reports of Interbrew’s intention to raise the price of Stella Artois by above the level of inflation in 2005 (‘Brewer hits back’, The Grocer, December 4, p69). I applaud off trade boss Stuart MacFarlane for standing up to those retailers that seem intent on pricing beer lower each year.
He claims his beer is a premium product and, rightly so, should be priced as such. It should also go some way to convincing the consumer to buy premium lager on the merit of its taste and quality rather than whether it is cheap or not. This is certainly something Bavaria UK supports. As a smaller player in the premium lager market it can be difficult to match the price cuts of the larger brands.
However, it remains to be seen whether this promise of higher prices for Stella will ring true next Christmas.
This year the industry has been subjected to massive price slashes to woo the consumer. Some have tried to counter this by promoting crates containing fewer standard bottles (20x330ml) or crates containing smaller bottles (24x300ml) so consumers think they are getting value for money. I think this is a worrying trend - where
to next? Smaller bottles per crate year-on-year so brewers can match price slashes demanded by the retailers? Consumers will soon get wise to this tactic and may feel they’re not getting value for money.
With crazy price wars happening every Christmas and during the summer months, it will be interesting to see if Interbrew stands firm and maintains its higher prices for Stella Artois. I hope so. Bigger players such as Stella are influencers. Arguably, the premium lager market has been vastly devalued by supermarket price wars. Hopefully the stand taken by Interbrew will help to distinguish the premium products from standard ones. It will also help smaller, more niche, premium brands to achieve more shelf space.
, providing increased choice for the consumer.
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