SABMiller criticises loutish advertising of beer
Who is to blame if women don’t drink beer? Only the brewers themselves. SABMiller’s CEO Alan Clark thinks it is the brewers’ “insulting” and “dismissive” advertising that is putting women off beer. On 13 May 2015 he said it is time to consign the “lager lout, laddish, college frat” image of beer drinking to history and to “modernise” beer.
Ah well. Haven’t women long rolled their eyes at beer marketing material in which women are “either not present at all or entered as a butt of a joke” as Mr Clark put it? So why did Mr Clark’s Eureka moment come now? Was it to deflect attention from the fact that on the same day the world’s number two brewer reported flat full-year profits, hit by the dollar’s strength?
SABMiller announced that operating profits fell 1 percent to USD 6.37 billion in the year ended 31 March 2015. Net producer revenue fell 2 percent to USD 26.29 billion. Excluding the impact of currency fluctuations, revenue was up 5 percent and earnings before interest, tax and amortisation (EBITA) was up 6 percent.
However, the strong U.S. dollar reduced the value of international sales and profits and increased raw material costs since commodities are often traded in the U.S. currency.
SABMiller had already reported that its worldwide beer volume was flat last year, declining 2 percent in North America and being flat in Europe. Soft drink volumes, which accounted for just over a fifth of SABMiller’s sales, were up 8 percent to 70.3 million hl.
Looking ahead, the company said it expected the trading environment to stay challenging and that its business would continue to be hit by currency volatility. Perhaps the brewer can improve things by making more women drink its beers?
