Dos Equis, the fastest growing import brand among top imports and primary driver of import category growth in the Texas food channel, is raising the stakes even higher with the introduction of the Dos Equis Lager 18 Pack. The new pack capitalizes on two key trends in the Lone Star State: the continued explosion in…
Buzzing Over Beer Sales
State of beer: Despite a strong outlook for 2010, U.S. beer shipments dropped by 2.2% in 2009. Thousands of Barrels Shipped $2,008 2,009 Change Anheuser-Busch $107,025 104,800 ($2,225.00) MillerCoors $64,500 63,300 ($1,200.00) Crown Imports $11,583 11,000 ($583.00) Heineken USA $8,960 8,575 ($385.00) Pabst $5,900 5,700 ($125.00) Selling beer, wine and other adult…
Anheuser-Busch Eliminates 90 Positions
Anheuser-Busch InBev NV’s U.S. division cut about 90 jobs in its sales division Thursday, including several vice presidents, some 350 other layoffs are occur in the coming months as part of the company’s restructuring, The Wall Street Journal reported. The job reductions linked to the reorganization are intended to help the world’s largest beer maker…
Better Beer Laws Campaign Begins in Harrisburg, Pa.
Members of the Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association (PFMA) and the Pennsylvania Convenience Store Council (PCSC) joined state Sen. John Rafferty (R-Montgomery) as he unveiled legislation that would make sweeping and historic changes to the state’s beer laws. In addition to announcing its support of the beer bill, PFMA/PCSC revealed its new Web site, www.sixpacktogo.org,…
Colorado C-stores Take Step Toward Full-Strength Beer
Colorado’s convenience-store owners won a victory this week when the state’s House Business Affairs and Labor Committee approved a measure Wednesday that would allow c-stores of under 5,000 feet to sell products with a higher alcoholic content than the reduced-strength beer that they now are limited to selling, Denver Business Journal. The proposal won by a…
Many Indiana C-stores To Card All Customers For Alcohol
The Indiana Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association announced Tuesday that 13 chains covering 458 Indiana locations will begin requiring their clerks to check the IDs of all customers purchasing alcohol, starting in the next few weeks, the Indiana Star reported. The announcement coincides with the state legislature’s review of several alcohol bills, including one…
Aztex Buzzing Over Beer Sales
When beer sales were made legal last August in formerly dry Clay County, N.C., Aztex Fuel & Food Centers’ Hayesville location was ready to pounce, becoming the first c-store in the market to supply cold suds. Aztex, an experienced c-store marketer, knew from its other stores that alcohol sales can drive foot traffic and increase…
Competition Brews for Beer Sales
Convenience stores across the country are facing burgeoning competition on beer and wine sales from drug store giant Walgreens, which is branching back into the adult beverages category. Walgreens is adding beer sales due to “a direct response to consumer demand,” said Robert Elfinger, spokesperson for the Deerfield, Ill. drug store chain. It plans to…
Fabulous Freddy’s Fuels with Flair
Fabulous Freddy’s is wooing new customers with old tricks. Resurrecting the customer service of decades past, the seven-store chain headquartered in Las Vegas, offers its patrons full-service treatment at the pump, at self-service prices. “Our company’s mission statement is to provide fabulous service to everyone, and one of the ways we do that is to…
Building a Beer Strategy
Beer sales have held relatively steady despite the economic maelstrom of the past several months, and one reason is that c-stores are asking for help. Operators are seeking and getting assistance of various sorts from their suppliers in an effort to make up for lost dollars. Help is coming in the form of promotional programs…