Radeberger Group loses 5.7 percent in volume in 2009

Blame it on the usual suspects – the economy, the weather, demographics – that 2009 was one of the worst years for the German on-trade. Radeberger Group (Jever, Radeberger) says that beverage turnover in pubs and restaurants was down in two-digit numbers. Radeberger Group itself saw volumes in the on-trade drop 7 percent.

This must have made brewers and retailers so nervous that beer promotions became a regular feature in German supermarkets rather than an exception to the rule. Market observers estimate that in 2009 off-trade promotions accounted for 50 percent of total beer sales. The effect is that consumers now seem to take it for granted that a crate of a premium beer brand is not going to cost more than EUR 9.99 (10 litres).

For once it’s not Germany’s discount retailers like Aldi and Lidl who can be blamed for the continuing downward pressure on beer prices – it’s the national brewers themselves that do everything to turn their beer into a “category killer”.