Supermarket group Tesco pulls Carlsberg from shelves

True, the supermarket chain Tesco has heaps of problems of its own, but perhaps it’s also a sign of the times that retailers think that a reduction in SKUs will take complexities and costs out of their operations.

In October 2015 Tesco pulled almost all Carlsberg products from its stores as part of a massive cull of big brands. Carlsberg’s annual sales at Tesco were expected to top an estimated GBP 60 million (USD 92 million).

Carlsberg was not the only beverage company to get de-listed. The juice brands Ribena and Capri-Sun fell off the shelves too, it was reported.

In future, the chain will sell four-packs of Carlsberg in only 200 of about 2,600 stores it has across the country.

Tesco’s CEO Dave Lewis made the decision as part of his mission to revive the flailing stores by streamlining customers’ weekly shops.

Until now, Tesco stocked around 90,000 different products. It is hoping to cut this number down to between 65,000 and 70,000.

The biggest UK brewer by market share is Molson Coors, the owner of the Carling beer brand, accounting for 18.4 percent of sales in 2014. AB-InBev’s brands gave it 17.8 percent of the UK market; Heineken claimed 17.1 percent and Carlsberg 14.8 percent. Diageo, the owner of Guinness, came in fifth with 4.8 percent, ahead of SABMiller, which had just 3.1 percent, according to reports.