Beer Wars Ahead

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During these recessionary times, “people are drinking less, but they want something that’s good,” said Simon Thillou, a former journalist who in 2006, opened La Cave à Bulles, a specialty shop in the Marais section of Paris. Around the world in 17 countries, people who are tired of tasteless beer have turned to the Brooklyn Brewery brand, a company that has become the largest exporter of American craft beer. The privately held company has foreign sales that account for 20 percent of its annual sales of $50 million and is planning to expand its reach.

Questions:
1. According to Hervieux, what is the company’s biggest European market?
2. According to Hindy, what is a “category captain” and what role do they have in product placement?
3. According to Hindy, what are “equity contracts” and what role do they play in the beer wars?
4. Research where the Department of Justice’s current anti-trust suit stands in its case against Anheuser-Busch InBev NV (ABI). Do you agree that this would be a duopoly or monopoly?

Sources:

CNN Video. (2013). Recession Can’t Stop this Brewery, March 8 (Retrievable online at http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2013/03/08/aj-american-journeys-brooklyn-brewery-foreman.cnn).

Hervieux, L. (2013). Brooklynite Hits France with Plans to Seduce. The New York Times, Feb. 13 (Retrievable online at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/14/business/global/a-brooklyn-specialty-brewer-dares-the-french-market.html?_r=0)

Hindy, S. (2012). Don’t Let Big Brewers Win the Beer Wars. CNN, December 13 (Retrievable online at http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/12/opinion/hindy-beer-wars/index.html).