Say it ain't so, Gussie

The A-B shareholders finally got an offer they couldn't refuse. The mass beer market is flat (no pun intended) or falling, and there's no frickin' way InBev is going to make up that shortfall by selling more Bud Light. Not that it was so wonderful before, but perhaps CanadaSportsJournalists.com can tell us what happened after Interbrew (an InBev predecessor) bought Labatt's. Maybe whatever happened to Rolling Rock after A-B bought it.

You wonder if the first target of InBev's cost cutting is spinning off or selling off the theme parks.

 

Could be. Another place to look is the ad budget.

http://online.wSportsJournalists.com/article/SB121331524057770021.html?mod=dist_smartbrief (Note: Pay link)

 

How much of a stake, if any, does the brewery have in the baseball team?

 

Capitalism would be fine if it was an American company buying them. Are you ready for a country that is owned by everyone else? Where is our "buying power?" Gone.

 

None. Sold the team after Gussie died.

 

A-B sold the team back in 1996. They own naming rights to the new stadium through 2025.

 

Labatt going to Interbrew royally fucked the Blue Jays which had been doing so well when Labatt's ran the show. Interbrew had no interest in the team and slashed the budget. I'd argue the franchise still hasn't recovered from that.

Anyway, I don't recall any major changes for the Labatt brands (including Bud and Bud Light), they are still as strong as they've ever been. They did close their brewery in Toronto but that was an old plant anyway.

 

Agree with Huggy on the Jays side of things. And Interbrew also just let the Skydome deteriorate into a pigpen. When Ted Rogers bought the shithole for $25 million (about 10 cents on the dollar) he at least put some money into giving the place a face lift.

However, as a brand, Molson Canadian has kicked the shit out of Labatt in the beer wars. I don't know the exact numbers but I do remember reading that basically Labatt has conceded defeat and Blue is no longer considered the flagship beer. I can't even remember the last Blue TV ad I've seen.

But they keep serving that shit Stella at the Goose and charge a premium to boot.

 

Agree that Canadian and Coors Light (WTF??) rule the beer world here (here's the top 10 brands by sales at the Beer Store, I can't imagine it's much different in the other provinces):

http://www.thebeerstore.ca/Beers/Big_ten.asp

But Blue and Bud are the next two and Labatt's purchase of Lakeport looks to be a pretty good one. I don't drink it but I know lots of people who do.

I'd forgot about Interbrew's neglect of the 'Dome. Good point, there.

Oh yeah and I agree with JR: Stella is complete shit.

 

Given how much in debt we are to the Chinese, hadn't this ship already sailed quite some time ago?

 

Aristotle was not Belgian.

 

Buddies in St. Louis keep telling me the city will reject Budweiser en masse over this. They say Schlafly will become the No. 1 beer in St. Louis within five years.

I just can't see lifelong Bud drinkers switching brands just because the parent company is no longer based in the Lou.