Blame it on the economy
Radeberger Group, Germany’s number one brewing and beverage group, seems to be a case in point. In sync with Germany’s declining GDP, the brewer reported a drop in beer sales of 5.7 percent during the first half of 2009.
Radeberger Group (beer market share: 13 percent) has been hit worse by the economic meltdown than its competitors. Germany’s total beer sales declined 4.5 percent to 49.3 million hl during the first six months of 2009.
As Radeberger Group admitted, the on-trade sector has suffered most. Blame it on the economy, the ban on smoking, the summer that never was – all these factors together have given brewers reason to bite their fingernails.
Figures show that the premium sector has suffered most. The winner – if you can call a brewer of discount beer brands a winner - is Oettinger brewery. Its sales were up an estimated 2 percent during the period in question, thanks to the success of its wheat beer brands, Weizen & grapefruit, alcohol-free Weizen and Weizen & strawberry.
Apparently, Oettinger (five breweries; 8.5 million hl beer sales 2008) is benefiting from the economy nosediving. That’s why the brewer originating from Bavaria could afford to buy the Carlsberg/Holsten brewery in Braunschweig as of 1 August 2009 with a capacity of 2 million hl, thus taking a worry off Carlsberg’s mind. Under Carlsberg’s stewardship the Braunschweig business was going nowhere and Carlsberg was glad to see those low- (or no-)margins brands go.
Another brewer who does not appear fazed by the economic decline is the Munich brewery Augustiner. It is expected to increase its beer sales to 1.25 million hl this year. Strangely enough, a nearby competitor seems to make its managers nervous: Herzoglich Bayerisches Brauhaus Tegernsee (HB Tegernsee), owned by members of the former royal family of Bavaria, is challenging Augustiner on its own turf by selling its beer (like Augustiner) in the old-fashioned brown half-litre Euro bottle. When HB Tegernsee began packaging its beer in 0.33 litre bottles, Augustiner was quick to follow – which made everybody rub their eyes. It’s highly unheard of for Augustiner to respond to market changes.
However, on the whole, the outlook for Germany’s brewers is grim. Pundits say that if this negative trend continues, 2009 will go down in history as the year which saw beer sales drop to levels unheard of since unification of the two Germanys 20 years.
