SABMiller sees slowing sales in Europe
By Noah Davis • Jul 9th, 2009 • Category: Beer News
Apparently, beer isn’t selling well in Russia and Hungary. (Who knew?)
SABMiller, the second-largest brewer in the world, cut forecasts for beer growth on the Continent from four to six percent a year through 2013 to two to four percent. According to the company, sales in Western Europe are decreasing while growth in Eastern Europe has slowed.
“For years we have been outperforming our four to six percent volume targets, and we’ve seen consumption growth moderation coming for a while,” Alan Clark, the brewer’s managing director for Europe, told Bloomberg. “When markets mature then the focus has to be on share. If we do not gain share this year we won’t achieve flat volumes.”
That’s corporate for “sorry dudes, we’re probably going to lose money.”
