Slow mo wrestling
Albert Christmann, the CEO of Radeberger Group, spoke the truth when he remarked that in 2010 German beers were flogged off at such low prices no one would have imagined only a few years ago.
Which is why many insiders think that those brewers who will report sales volume increases may have achieved these at the price of lower profits.
In Germany, the Oettinger brand is still the major seller, followed by Krombacher (+0.6 percent) and Bitburger (+1.8 percent). Warsteiner Pilsner declined 1.3 percent to 2.8 million hl, while the Warsteiner Group’s output dropped 300,000 hl to 5.4 million hl beer.
Carlsberg’s turnaround in Germany leaves something to still be desired: volume sales of its Holsten brand in Germany fell 2 percent to 1.1 million hl beer.
Among the wheat beer brands, Paulaner (Schörghuber/Heineken) fared best, selling 2.2 million hl (+3.2 percent). Erdinger came second at 1.6 million hl (3.9 percent), while AB-Inbev’s Franziskaner brand lost 2.4 percent and only sold 940,000 hl.
As said, these are Inside’s estimates and we all wait with bated breath to read which figures AB-InBev will report for Germany when it publishes its full year figures on 3 March 2011.
Obviously, there were some winners: Veltins, which in recent years has made waves with a slate of innovative beer mixes, sold 2.6 million hl beer (+4.8 percent). And Munich’s secretive Augustiner Brewery, known for its anti-advertising stance, sold 1.3 million hl beer (+1.0 percent). It now ranks 12th among Germany’s biggest beer brands.
