Heineken USA President steps down

In a statement, Mr Blaustein said: "This is not a decision that I made overnight. Given my own career aspirations and a different view of how to build our business/portfolio in the current economic climate, I thought it best that we part ways. Heineken USA has a passionate and talented team that will continue to bring success to the business, and I am personally looking forward to starting a new stage in my career."

Mr Blaustein took over the top job in 2007, after his predecessor had abruptly resigned from the position. Mr Blaustein will be succeeded on an interim basis by Heineken’s regional president for the Americas, John Nicolson.

The change at the helm comes as Heineken Lager’s sales are down 13 percent in U.S. retail channels this year, according to Information Resources Inc.

Commentators at Beer Marketers’ Insights say that sales of imported beer brands declined 11.4 percent for the period January to May 2009 from a year earlier. Within the import segment, the Mexican brands have fared slightly better than the European beer brands. For the five months to May 2009, Mexican brands were down 2.7 percent.

Dutch shipments dropped 19 percent January through May. Irish and UK shipments were down 23 percent, Italian shipments down 21 percent and Czech shipments down 30 percent.

Obviously, Americans are buying cheaper beer at discount supermarkets and choosing to drink at home to save money, causing imported brands to lose sales at their traditional strongholds in bars and restaurants.

However, domestic brewers in the U.S. are struggling too. According to the Beer Institute, domestic brewer sales fell an estimated 0.1 percent in the first six months of 2009 from a year earlier.