Beck’s sold out

It cannot have been in the interest of Beck’s or its parent InBev that furious wholesalers had to turn to the media for help. Apparently InBev Germany had underestimated the rising demand for Beck’s beer. During the first half of 2006, the sale of Beck’s increased by an estimated 17 percent. Due to low levels of returnable bottles at the brewery many wholesalers did not receive their quota of Beck’s. Therefore they could not keep their customers happy.

Displeasure with Beck’s must have been building up for weeks because the wholesalers’ federation chairman Günther Guder, whose members distribute three out of four bottles of beer in Germany, was quoted as saying that the federation would ask InBev for compensation. InBev Germany responded to the crisis by saying that at the end of August business would return to normal again and that all orders would be met.

For the first time also, InBev Germany admitted that they had Beck’s brewed at several locations – a significant departure from Beck’s erstwhile Bremen only policy. Still, demand exceeded supply because rules and regulations at the other brewery sites prevented the filling lines from being operated round the clock. Ah, the bureaucratic nightmare. That’s Germany for you these days.