Pacific Beverages in the red as Peroni’s popularity dims
Pacific Beverages’ revenue for 2009 jumped to AUD 109.14 million (EUR 75 million) from AUD 78.7 million in 2008, a gain of 38.7 percent despite the slowdown in the beer market.
Recent data from Nielsen shows that early customer enthusiasm for Pacific Beverages’ Italian import, Peroni Nastro Azzurro, is starting to flatten.
Nielsen said Peroni’s share of the Australian packaged premium imported category fell from 4.6 percent in March last year to 4.3 percent in March this year. The decline appeared to have started late last year after Peroni hit a peak of 5.3 percent in October 2009.
Pacific Beverages’ efforts to become the number three company in the AUD 10 billion Australian beer market (EUR 6.8 billion) have so far netted a national market share of just under 10 percent. To move up one slot behind the market leader Foster’s and the second-ranked Lion Nathan, Pacific Beverages will need to knock off the family-owned South Australian brewer Cooper’s.
Obviously, Australian media would like to see the London-listed brewer SABMiller make a grab for control of Foster’s beer division. Commentators say the company might even go ahead on its own without its joint venture partner Coca-Cola Amatil. SABMiller already owns Fosters’ brewing rights in the United States.
However, SABMiller could face competition for Foster’s assets from Japanese giant Asahi Breweries and North American brewer Molson Coors, which has a 5 percent stake in the Foster’s Group.
A low-carb beer is the last thing you would expect to originate from the land of pasta, red wine and souped-up Ferraris. But Pacific Beverages apparently thought they had to launch their own low-carb beer into a market where low-carb beers are selling like hot buns (sorry for the mixed metaphor). Crisp and clean with a slightly bitter finish, Peroni Leggera’s 3.5 percent alcohol content is low even by low-carb beer standards. Aimed at image-conscious 20-34-year-old beer drinkers, its appeal is as much about style as it is taste. A case of 24 bottles (330 ml) retails for about AUD 64 or AUD 2.70 (EUR 1.85) per bottle.
