Replies to post #29383 on Drinks Americas Holdings, Ltd. (DKAM)

[philsdaddy]

An interesting quote from the manager of Labatt--thirteen years ago--

When the entertainment assets are stripped away, marked similarities emerge in the beer marketing philosophies at the Canadian and Belgian companies. Rather than push worldwide brands - the strategy used by Dutch brewer Heineken NV to sell its familiar green-bottled beer and by Anheuser-Busch of St. Louis, Mo., to sell Budweiser - Labatt and Interbrew have both tried to establish and develop specific regional brands. Powell says: "We look at Canada as 10 different regional markets, almost as 10 countries, and see the United States as at least 50 different markets." Interbrew also backs a series of local beers within its vast empire - only Stella Artois is considered an international brand.

Boosting Labatt's growth means expanding these regional niches, particularly in the United States. Labatt plans to start shipping Kokanee, a beer brewed in British Columbia, into Washington, Oregon and Idaho, while Halifax-brewed Alexander Keiths beer will be exported into New England. Mexican beers from Femsa, such as Dos Equis and Tecate, will be heavily promoted in about seven major U.S. cities with large Hispanic populations. Labatt, Powell says, projects that its sales in the United States will increase by up to 20 per cent annually over the next five years: last year, Labatt turned a $25-million profit on U.S. operations. Overall, the company made a $155-million profit in 1994 on sales of $2.3 billion.