beer bits
J2jurado
Tokyo, May 19 (Bloomberg) -- Suntory Ltd., Japan's fourth- biggest brewer,
plans to build a beer and soft drink plant, seeking to be the No. 2 brewer
within five years, Nikkei English News said, citing unidentified company
sources.
The plant, to be built in Kyushu at a cost of 30 billion yen ($242.6 million),
is expected to reach an annual output of 60,000 kiloliters of beer and 100,000
kiloliter of soft drinks after it begins production in spring 2003, the report
said.
Suntory, running at near-full capacity at its three domestic plants, including
the Musashino plant in Tokyo, aims to increase market shares to 20 percent in
five years, from 10 percent last year, NEN said.
The company has secured a site at Kumamoto Prefecture and expects to sell
products to the Kyushu region and western Japan, NEN said.
Foster's announces record grape intake
Thursday 17 May, 2001
The wine division of Foster's Brewing has announced a record intake of grapes
for the 2001 vintage.
Beringer Blass Wines Estates has taken in more than 89,000 tonnes across its
Australian wine growing regions.
That is up 46 per cent on last year.
Red varieties account for around 73 per cent.
The company says established vineyards have produced above average yields,
while a number of recently planted vineyards have delivered their first crops.
Beringer Blass winemakers say there have been exceptionally good growing and
maturation conditions in the premium South Australian wine regions. © 2001
Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Dole Wants to Sell Honduran Beer Company, Bavaria Might Buy
Bogota, May 17 (Bloomberg) -- Dole Food Co. the world's largest fruit and
vegetable producer, is looking to sell its Central American beer company, said
a spokeswoman.
``We initiated a cost-cutting program since 1999, what you could call
downsizing,'' said Freya Maneki, director of corporate communications. ``We
looked to get rid of the non-core underperforming assets such as the brand
Swill Ligera.''
U.S.-based Dole owns 97 percent in Cerveceria Hondurena SA and its leading
brand "Swill Ligera". In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Dole said
revenue from its beverage operations increased to $283 million in 2000 from
$275 million the previous year. The report also said proceeds from the sale
would be used to pay down debt. Dole has hired Banc of America Securities LLC
and Deutsche Banc as advisers on the sale.
Bavaria SA, Colombia's largest beverage company, may be considering buying the
beer company. Bavaria is one of the biggest companies in Colombia, though its
influence abroad has remained limited to Ecuador.
``Bavaria, like other international beer companies, has been invited to
participate in a bid for a Central American beer brewery,'' said Bavaria in a
statement on the Colombian Securities Regulator's website.
Maneki declined to say how much Dole wants to raise in the sale.
MagiCorp Entertainment Inc. to bring Wolfgang Puck Restaurants, Gordon Biersch
Brewery Restaurants and Cafe Tu Tu Tango to Canada
TORONTO, May 17 /PRNewswire/ - MagiCorp Entertainment Inc. (MEI:CDNX)
("MagiCorp") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a binding
securities exchange agreement to acquire 1437319 Ontario Inc., subject to
receiving final CDNX approval. MagiCorp intends to complete this transaction on
June 4th, 2001, at which time the transaction will release from escrow pursuant
Ontario Securities Commission regulations. MagiCorp will issue at completion
25,296,500 new common shares to the shareholders of 1437319 Ontario Inc., which
will represent 37.5% of the issued and outstanding shares of the corporation
after completion of the transaction. 1437319 Ontario Limited owns 100% of
Fusion ITM Inc., which has acquired the exclusive rights in Canada to own and
operate the following major U.S. based high quality and prominent restaurant
operations:
Wolfgang Puck Cafe and Brewery
Wolfgang Puck Express
Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurants
Cafe Tu Tu Tango
1437319 Ontario Inc. also owns 100% of Fusion Management Corporation, which has
entered into leases with affiliates of PenEquity Management Corporation
("PenEquity"), an Ontario based real estate developer and asset manager, to
develop the first 16 restaurant operations, all in high profile locations in
Southern Ontario. The first three restaurant operations are expected to open in
the fourth quarter of 2001. 1437319 Ontario Limited has net assets of
$3,145,000 and no liabilities. Since the first licensed restaurant operations
have not yet opened, there are no revenues or earnings to date. At completion,
Glenn Miller and John Thall, currently Chairman and President respectively of
the Fusion companies, will join the board of directors of MagiCorp, and John
Thall will become Executive Vice President of MagiCorp. Glenn Miller is
President of PenEquity, and John Thall is a highly respected restaurateur with
prior senior executive experience at the head office of Hard Rock Cafe, Planet
Hollywood and Billboard Live! MagiCorp's "AlpenRock House" mixed-use
entertainment centre, currently under development in Whitby, Ontario, will also
incorporate a Cafe Tu Tu Tango.
MagiCorp plans a roll out of more than 50 of its branded restaurant operations
across Canada in the next five years, and further brands may be added to
MagiCorp's brand portfolio in the future.
Wolfgang Puck Cafe and Brewery
Wolfgang Puck creates food with passion, and innovates by brewing cutting-edge
new beers and the world's most celebrated ales. The many outlets for this
passion have originated from the inspiration of restaurant partners Wolfgang
Puck and Barbara Lazaroff starting with the opening of Spago and Chinois on
Main in Los Angeles in 1982 and 1983. Blending fresh California ingredients and
classical French training, Chef Puck is regarded as one of the creators of
"California Cuisine" and "Asian Fusion" food. Together with his wife,
architectural designer Barbara Lazaroff, the team has received widespread
acclaim for their fine-dining restaurants including Spago, Chinois on Main,
Granita, Postrio, and Trattoria del Lupo.
In 1993, The Wolfgang Puck Food Company also began to operate full- service
Wolfgang Puck(R) Cafes and quick service Wolfgang Puck Expresses which are now
open in Californian, Nevada, Washington, Illinois, Florida and Colorado.
Synonymous with smart, imaginative, flavorful food that wows the palette, the
Cafe embodies Wolfgang and Barbara's "live, love, eat(R)" philosophy. Employing
fresh ingredients and a passion for hospitality, the Wolfgang Puck Cafe
recreates Puck's trademark recipes at reasonable prices. In May 1995, Nation's
Restaurant News, one of the foodservice industry's leading publications, named
the Wolfgang Puck Cafe as one of its "Hot Concepts" based upon the Cafe's
innovative, distinct concept, cutting-edge menu, and growth potential. In
January 2000, Nations Restaurant News again proclaimed Wolfgang Puck to be "in
a culinary stratosphere all his own", the "Founder of California Cuisine", and
the "Godfather of Fusion".
Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant
Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant is positioned as an upper-end dining
brewery/restaurant that provides benefits unique to its operation, including
cultivating a strong repeat business with locals, serving authentic and premium
quality food and lagers in a casual yet sophisticated environment while
building a premium brand name.
Gordon Biersch creates a distinctive dining experience by using decor and
atmosphere to reinforce the Company's attention to creating fresh food and
authentic, handcrafted lagers. Gordon Biersch exclusively brews lagers, unlike
90% of the brewpub industry that brews ale beers. To maintain the purity and
quality of the product, Gordon Biersch adheres strictly to Reinheitsgebot, the
1516 German Purity Law which mandates the use of only malt, hops, water and
yeast in the brewing process. To differentiate its brewery/restaurants from
other upper-end casual dining restaurants, Gordon Biersch offers premium-
quality, authentic food with original recipes. The brewery/restaurants serve
multi-ethnic cooking with dishes from Asia, Europe, the Mediterranean and Latin
America created to compliment the Gordon Biersch crafted lagers.
Cafe Tu Tu Tango
Cafe Tu Tu Tango is an exciting, colourful, all appetizer, multi-ethnic eatery
resembling an artist's loft in Barcelona, Spain, where a party is always in
progress! Spontaneous entertainment occurs unpredictably during the evening
while local artists paint and display their work at various art stations
throughout the restaurant. To complete the experience, take a stroll through
the loft where all of the art is for sale.
An eclectic, all appetizer size menu is designed to be particularly intriguing
and fun when ordered in multiples and shared with friends. An average of fifty
moderately priced menu items and daily additions take direction from every
corner of Spain, Italy, Latin America, Asia, the Caribbean, the Middle East and
the U.S.A., making it a true multi-ethnic food feast. The cuisine, like its
decor, is vibrant, constantly changing and above all exciting. Each visit to a
Cafe Tu Tu Tango is a new experience.
Adolph Coors Company Increases Quarterly Dividend, Adopts Amendments to
Articles of Incorporation
GOLDEN, Colo., May 17 /PRNewswire/ -- The board of directors of Adolph Coors
Company (NYSE: <A HREF="aol://4785:RKY">RKY</A>) today increased the company's
quarterly dividend to 20.5 cents per share from 18.5 cents -- a 10.8% increase.
The increased second quarter dividend is payable June 15, 2001, to
shareholders of record May 31, 2001.
In addition, at a special meeting of shareholders held today at the company's
headquarters in Golden, Colo., Class A and Class B shareholders voted to adopt
four amendments to the Adolph Coors Company articles of incorporation. The
four amendments changed the articles by:
-- increasing the number of authorized Class B shares that the company
may issue to 200 million and eliminating the par value of the Class A
common and preferred stock;
-- requiring equal dividends on the company's Class A and Class B common
stock and allowing the company to distribute stock dividends to the
holders of Class A common stock in the form of shares of Class B
common stock;
-- establishing a majority vote to approve all extraordinary matters
submitted to the shareholders, instead of the two-thirds vote
previously required for extraordinary matters; and
-- converting the Class B common stock into voting stock if and for so
long as there are no shares of Class A common stock outstanding.
The Class A and Class B shareholders voted not to adopt two proposed amendments
that would have:
-- authorized Adolph Coors Company's board of directors to grant limited
voting rights if the board ever designates classes of the company's
authorized preferred stock, and
-- permitted internal asset transfers by the company to wholly owned
entities other than corporations without obtaining a vote of the Class
B shareholders.
Also, Adolph Coors Company's Class A shareholders adopted an amendment that
modernizes the provisions of the company's articles of incorporation that
describe the extent to which the company may indemnify and limit the liability
of its directors to reflect changes in the Colorado Business Corporation Act.
The holders of Class B shares were not required to vote on this amendment.
Founded in 1873, Coors Brewing Company is the third-largest U.S. brewer and
sells its products in North America, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe and
Asia. The company's stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the
symbol RKY. For more information on Coors Brewing Company, visit the company's
Web site at www.coors.com.
Grape expectations for fledgling India wine industry
By Robin Elsham
BANGALORE, May 18 (Reuters) - Wicker baskets balanced on their heads, barefoot
Indian women in colourful sarees work to bring in this year's harvest of fine
French grapes ahead of the monsoon.
In a nearby field winemaker Michel Roland picks a bunch of golden yellow
clairette grapes, samples several, and pronounces that section of the vast
estate ready for picking.
"Ripening is the first condition to make good wine," says the ruddy-faced
Frenchman. "It is relatively easy to make good wine if you have good grapes."
That partly explains why Roland, a consultant to vintners operating 140
properties around the world, is present. Geography explains the rest.
May is not harvest season anywhere else in the 12 countries -- the United
States, South Africa plus countries in Europe and South America -- where Roland
advises clients.
That made it possible for the wine guru from Bordeaux to fit into his schedule
an offer to influence the craft in one of the world's least known production
areas -- India.
Since 1995, Roland has been an advisor to Grover's Vineyards, located 50 km (30
miles) north of Bangalore, a once tranquil hill town popular with vacationers
and retirees because of its moderate climate and lovely civic gardens.
Grover's is India's only vineyard devoted to producing wine exclusively from
French varietal grapes, and in the process trying to alter the drinking habits
of a nation that inherited a preference for beer and whisky from its British
colonisers.
In explaining why Indians never developed a widespread taste for wine,
producers here cite the law of supply and demand: there has been no supply of
good wine, thus no demand.
That is changing.
The steady growth of an Indian middle-class, especially in cities like
Bangalore, the nation's high-tech centre, has sparked demand among Indians who
frequently travel abroad for Western luxury items like wine.
India also recently lifted quantitative restrictions on alcoholic beverage
imports, opening its domestic market to foreign producers of wines and spirits.
Is Grover's Vineyards up to competing with wines imported from Europe,
Australia and elsewhere?
An incident last November convinced Roland that it is.
Roland said he conducted a blind tasting that month for a good friend -- a
writer at the Wine Spectator, a magazine read by wine snobs everywhere.
The drop Roland poured was a glass of Grover's Vineyard's 1998 La Reserve, a
full-bodied blended red.
"When I asked him where he thought it came from, he said, 'Maybe Bordeaux?'
Afterward he guessed everywhere -- Spain, Portugal -- but never India of
course."
GETTING STARTED
Grover's Vineyards is the creation of Kanwal Grover, an Indian trader, who in
1979 met George Vesselle, former director for technical research at French
champagne producer G.H. Mumm & Co.
Over the next few years Grover shipped samples of soil from all over India to
France for analysis, and studied weather data for the previous 50 years.
Bangalore was eventually chosen because of its well-drained soil, cool nights
and temperate climate. In summer it rarely gets hotter than 35 degrees Celsius,
and on the coldest winter night never cooler than 10 degrees.
"We don't have extreme differences, yet substantial variation during the day,"
explains Estate Manager Abhay Kewadkar, who studied wine making in France and
Australia.
Daily temperature variation is important to provide a growth period during the
day, followed by a rest period at night.
In 1983, cuttings from more than 35 varieties of vines were planted to see
which fared best. In 1989 the number was narrowed to nine varieties, planted on
three acres. And in 1992, Grover's Vineyards sold its first bottle of Cabernet
Hindustan.
Today the vines cover 120 acres, a figure increasing by 20 acres each year
towards a target of 200 acres. That is much larger than most European vineyards
and similar in scale to mid-sized producers in the United States and Australia.
Last year Grover's produced 300,000 bottles of wine, composed of five
varieties.
It makes a Cabernet Hindustan, a Blanc de Blanc from the clairette grape, two
varieties of rose, and the luscious La Reserve.
Online Pub Crawl on beer.com's StellaCam Attracts Thousands of Beer Lovers
International event in ten cities embraced by online beer lovers worldwide
SAN FRANCISCO, May 17 /PRNewswire/ - Over four thousand beer lovers went online
rather than stood in line a week ago in an attempt to establish a world record
for the largest online pub crawl on beer.com. On May 10, 2001, 4,068 beer
lovers prowled between pub parties via the StellaCam in Brussels, Budapest,
Edinburgh, London, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto and
Vancouver.
Hosted on www.beer.com, StellaCam is the world's first two-way interactive Web
cam that allows Internet users to visit some of the hottest bars around the
world, chat for free with other party-goers, and buy a beer for a new friend.
Online beer lovers can buy a beer for StellaCam users for $7.00 US, including
tax and tip, charged to a credit card.
"The tremendous success of the StellaCam pub crawl demonstrates that through
beer.com, beer lovers have "cracked-open" yet another fun and refreshing way to
experience the beer lifestyle online," said Aidan Tracey, general manager,
beer.com. "And, the StellaCam party is still raging a week later as, on
average, almost 900 beer lovers continue to socialize online daily."
"The StellaCam experience turned into a great game. The interactive Web cams
made the pub crawl into a giant, global game board where my buddies and I
talked with people from all over the world. We got a guy in Atlanta to pop a
beer.com balloon, we "danced" with the girls in San Francisco - and everyone,
from all over, bought us beers. We had a terrific time," said Dean MacNeil,
beer lover from Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Sponsored by Stella Artois, one of the world's leading premier beer brands,
StellaCam is exclusive to www.beer.com and enhances the site's international
flavor, creating a global community of beer lovers and promoting relationships
between beer lovers worldwide.
Partnering with top beer brands from around the world, beer.com celebrates beer
and launches lovers of the beer lifestyle into refreshing and novel beer
experiences. beer.com features fun and dynamic promotions, beer merchandise,
editorial and events such as the Jam with Pam music contest, free beer.com
email, and StellaCam. Introduced by Interbrew NA, the world's second largest
brewer, beer.com is the leading entertainment site for beer lovers and
champions the beer category online.
A digital image of StellaCam is available on request. Photo features a beer
lover in San Francisco's The Irish Bank Bar toasting new friends in Brussels'
Wilde Bar in Belgium. The cyber toast celebrates the launch of www.beer.com's
attempt to establish a world record for the largest online pub crawl on
StellaCam.
Robert Mondavi Withdraws From Southern France Wine Venture
Paris, May 17 (Bloomberg) -- Robert Mondavi Corp., a California-based wine
maker, said it's abandoned plans to make wine in the south of France after
opposition from local farmers and a newly elected mayor.
``While we continue to believe in the value and integrity of our proposal, it
is our deeply held conviction that we can only be successful in cross-cultural
business endeavors when we work in complete partnership with members of the
local community,'' Mondavi said in a faxed statement.
Mondavi's decision came after Manuel Diaz, a Communist Party member elected in
March, overturned the previous mayor's decision to lease 50 hectares of land
owned by the village of Aniane in the Languedoc-Roussillon region along the
Mediterranean.
``The lack of support from the newly-elected Municipal Council of Aniane as
well as the administrative, legal and political obstacles that have resulted
from this change in local government, reflect the difficulty of forming a
partnership and raise such uncertainty about the future of the project that it
is no longer feasible to continue,'' Mondavi said.
An assistant at Aniane's town hall said the mayor couldn't be reached.
Mondavi has been making wine in France since 1979 in partnership with Baron
Philippe de Rothschild of Chateau Mouton Rothschild. Their joint venture,
called Opus One, is in the more commercially oriented wine-growing region of
Bordeaux in western France. Mondavi has also bought wine from other growers in
Languedoc, blended it, and bottled it under its Vichon Mediterranean Wines
label.
Vineyards in Languedoc have traditionally made cheap bulk wines. Faced with
falling prices, some makers there have pushed in recent years to make better
quality bottled wines. Mondavi's decision last year to make its own wine in the
region brought splits among French winemakers into the open.
The previous mayor of Aniane supported the project and agreed to lease the
land. He was from the Socialist Party of Prime Minister Lionel Jospin. The
local wine cooperative also welcomed Mondavi, hoping the venture would raise
the profile of the region's wines.
Small local vineyards opposed Mondavi, saying a foreign wine maker using modern
equipment would destroy their traditional ways of making wine.
``Our four years of experience in the region have convinced us that the
Languedoc is one of the most exciting winegrowing regions of the world,''
Mondavi's statement said. ``We are particularly disappointed, therefore, to
miss the opportunity to work with the winegrowers of Aniane who have been both
friends and supporters throughout this process.''
Mondavi also makes wine in Italy, Albania and Chile. Its U.S. labels include
Woodbridge and Byron Vineyards.
Starbucks, Border's Cafe and Others Brew Fair Trade Coffee in Celebration of
Fair Trade Day; TransFair USA Announces Fair Trade Hero Award
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 18, 2001--In a signal that Fair Trade Certified
coffee is gaining in popularity, several national coffee retailers and
suppliers will brew Fair Trade coffee; in some cases, for the first time ever.
Today, for example, Starbucks is making headlines by brewing Fair Trade
Certified coffee nationwide in its 2400 stores in celebration of International
Fair Trade Day, which is tomorrow, Saturday, May 19. Numerous other coffee
retailers such as Tully's, Peet's Coffee and Tea, Seattle's Best Coffee and
Borders Cafe will also brew and promote their Fair Trade coffees on May 19.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters as well as Equal Exchange, the first Fair Trade
coffee company and a pioneer in the Fair Trade movement are both sponsoring
several Fair Trade events with their retailers. All told, Fair Trade coffee
will be served in more than 3500 locations nationwide.
Fair Trade coffee is an alternative form of marketing that certified by the
non-profit organization TransFair USA. In honor of International Fair Trade
Day, TransFair announces the creation of the Fair Trade Hero Award. The award
is to be given annually to individuals for thinking globally and acting locally
to promote international Fair Trade practices within their communities. This
year's award goes to UCLA junior Christine Riordan and Nicaraguan Fair Trade
coffee farmer and spokesman Santiago Rivera. Rivera has made countless trips to
the United States to tell his personal story of moving up from subsistence
thanks to Fair Trade coffee. Other award recipients will be announced at a
later date. Through intensive campus organizing, Riordan was able to convince
her campus to serve Fair Trade coffee, thus forcing the campus's supplier to
begin carrying the product, a major victory.
"Fair Trade Certified coffee now benefits 550,000 farming families in 21
countries around the world, thanks to responsible consumers activists like
Christine Riordan, who are helping to educate the public about the need to
support sustainability-produced coffee and tea." says Paul Rice, TransFair's
Executive Director. "Consumer support for Fair Trade is a lifeline for many
farming families worldwide -- especially with coffee prices at a 7-year low,
driving many small family farmers into bankruptcy. Coffee farmer Santiago
Rivera has given selflessly of his time to share his story with Americans. His
passionate leadership is helping to end cycles of poverty and preserve the
environment for future generations."
TransFair created the Fair Trade Heroes Award specifically to honor community
leaders who have been instrumental in the rapid growth of this grassroots
consumer movement.
About Fair Trade
Fair Trade is an innovative approach to empowering Third World farmers who are
typically disadvantaged in conventional trade. Traditionally, many small coffee
farmers must sell their coffee to middlemen at prices that do not cover their
costs of production, forcing them into a downward spiral of poverty. Fair Trade
enables farming families to escape this cycle - not through handouts, but
through direct trade, fair prices, access to credit, and support for
environmental stewardship. In the year since Fair Trade coffee brands have been
widely available in the US, Fair Trade coffee sales have enabled farming
families to improve their nutrition and healthcare, practice environmentally
responsible farming methods, and re-invest in their farms and communities.
Fair Trade advocates say if they can secure even a fraction of the U.S. coffee
market; it would be a victory for farming families worldwide. Coffee is the
second most heavily traded commodity in the world following oil, and the US
consumes an estimated one-fifth (2.5 billion pounds) of global coffee
production -- making it the largest market in the world. Fair Trade Certified
coffee has long been a popular product in Europe, where it is widely sold and
served in many corporate offices as well as the European Parliament. Many other
Fair Trade Certified foodstuffs are also available in Europe, including
bananas, sugar, tea, honey, and chocolate.
Student Christine Riordan sees Fair Trade as a positive way to have an impact
on globalization and it's resulting increase in poverty. Says Riordan, "I
believe we have power over what we consume and a responsibility to ensure that
what we buy is transacted fairly. As consumers, we have the power to change the
way corporations do business, to demand that they provide a living wage to the
people who grow our coffee."
TransFair USA, a non-profit agency, is the only organization providing
independent, third party certification of Fair Trade products in the US.
Through regular visits to Fair Trade farmer cooperatives and partnerships with
participating coffee companies in the US, TransFair guarantees that Fair Trade
Certified products were grown and traded responsibly. Nationally, 100 US
companies now offer Fair Trade Certified coffee -- and the list is growing
daily.
To arrange interviews with the 2001 Fair Trade Heroes or receive information
about Fair Trade, call Adrienne Leicester Smith at 617-728-2406.
J2jurado
PLCs, and have escaped to come up for air. Gasp. I'm getting too old for that
stuff.
Interbrew Wants to End Bass Problem
.c The Associated Press
May 25, 2001 BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - Belgium's Interbrew SA wants to resolve
competition concerns over its $3.3 billion takeover of Britain's Bass Brewers
by the end of the year, a spokesman said Thursday.
The comments came a day after a London court overturned a government decision
that had demanded that the deal be dismantled because of competitive concerns.
``What is important is that we want to close the issue as quickly as possible
and practicable, by the end of the year,'' said Corneel Maes, spokesman for
Interbrew - the maker of Stella Artois lager and one of the world's biggest
brewers.
Britain's High Court ruled Wednesday that the government's Competition
Commission's procedure in finding Interbrew's acquisition of Bass
anticompetitive was unfair and said the ``decision cannot stand.''
The ruling marked the first time a company had succeeded in overturning a
decision by the British competition authority. However, the court also said
that the substance of the case was sound, leaving the competition issues still
unresolved.
Interbrew shares were buoyed by the court ruling, trading up 3 percent at 30
euros ($25.70) on the Brussels market in early trading Thursday. However, gains
were limited by uncertainty over the next legal steps and whether or not
Interbrew will still eventually have to divest Bass.
``Our aim is to get into contact with the UK authorities as soon as possible
... to sit around the table and understand exactly what their competition
concerns are and to discuss possible solutions,'' Maes said.
He declined to speculate on what solutions might be found.
The court in London was due to hold another hearing Friday.
Interbrew bought Bass Brewers last June, shortly after acquiring another
British brewer Whitbread for 400 million pounds ($567 million). British
competition authorities argued that the Belgian company had secured an unfairly
dominant position in the British beer market and ordered it to dispose of Bass.
UK court to consider Interbrew-Bass Brewers case
LONDON, May 25 (Reuters) - Britain's High Court will consider the fate of Bass
Brewers later on Friday after Belgium's Interbrew won a stay of execution on
the enforced sale of Bass thanks to a UK court ruling.
The British government and Interbrew meet in the High Court at 4.15 p.m. (1515
GMT) to thrash out the case, which may prompt a fresh round of discussions over
the competition remedy to the Belgian company's takeover of the British brewing
group.
Britain's Trade and Industry Minister Stephen Byers, acting on the
recommendation of the Competition Commission, blocked the takeover in January
and ordered Interbrew to sell Bass Brewers.
Interbrew, maker of Stella Artois beer, bought Bass Brewers last August for 2.3
billion pounds ($3.3 billion). Coming after Interbrew's purchase last May of
Whitbread's beer business, the deal gave the Belgian brewer a combined and
leading 32 percent share of the UK beer market.
Interbrew won a partial victory on Wednesday when High Court Judge Alan Moses
ruled that the commission had acted unfairly in reaching its recommendation to
block Interbrew's takeover of Bass Brewers.
He said the decision by Byers should be set aside as the commission had not
followed the proper procedure during its inquiry. But Moses did not criticise
the actual remedy proposed, or the commission's reasons for coming to its
conclusions.
REMEDIES
The judge's procedural concern surrounded the commission's decision to reject
an alternative remedy by which Interbrew might sell the smaller Whitbread beer
business, bought for 400 million pounds, rather than Bass Brewers.
The commission had argued that a major part of Whitbread's UK beer business was
brewing Stella Artois beer under licence, and that if Whitbread was sold off on
its own it would be a weak competitor to an Interbrew-owned Bass Brewers and
within the rest of the British beer market.
This was supported by Interbrew's own reaction to the possible divestment of
Whitbread. The commission reported: "Interbrew strongly opposes the sale of
Stella Artois. It told us that one of the main drivers behind the acquisition
of (Whitbread) was to regain control of the Stella Artois brand."
Judge Moses argued in his ruling that "whether Whitbread would be a viable
business and a strong competitor was a matter upon which more than one view
could be held."
Moses said one member of the commission's inquiry favoured a remedy whereby
Interbrew sold Whitbread, although the other three members preferred the option
of selling Bass Brewers.
The judge added Interbrew said it accepted the commission was entitled to reach
its conclusion on the competitive effect of the deal being against the public
interest, but it challenged the commission's conclusion on the remedy.
The judge will also decide on possible appeals to his ruling on Wednesday.
Russia's Vena Brewery to Invest $27 Mln in 2001, Paper Says
John Varoli
St. Petersburg, Russia, May 24 (Bloomberg) -- OAO Vena, a Russian beer maker
controlled by Carlsberg A/S, the No. 5 brewer, will invest $27 million this
year to expand production and build storage and transport facilities, Delovoi
Peterburg reported.
Vena, where Carlsberg owns two-thirds of the company and the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development owns the rest, said at its annual general
meeting that it made a loss last year, the paper said, without giving figures.
The loss was due to a $70 million investment in a new production line that
allowed the company to double output to almost 100 million liters a year, the
paper said.
Vena's biggest seller is the Nevskoye beer, named after the Neva River running
through St. Petersburg. Even after beer demand doubled during the past two
years in Russia, the country's per capita beer consumption of 35 liters a year
is less than half the Western European average of 80 to 100 liters per year.
Analyst trims view on Adolph Coors
NEW YORK, May 24 (Reuters) - Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown's beverage analyst cut
his earnings estimates on Adolph Coors Co. <<A HREF="aol://4785:RKY">RKY.N</A>>
on Thursday due to competitive pressures, especially from Philip Morris Cos
Inc.'s <<A HREF="aol://4785:MO">MO.N</A>> Miller Brewing Co.
Analyst Marc Greenberg said that based on an informal wholesaler survey he
conducted across several major markets, he sees double-digit volume growth in
the second quarter for Anheuser-Busch Cos Inc.'s <<A
HREF="aol://4785:BUD">BUD.N</A>> Bud Lite brand, as well as imports Heineken
and Corona.
"On the whole, the results bode well for continued success at Anheuser-Busch
and improvement for Miller, while Coors' results are less consistent,"
Greenberg said in a note.
Greenberg cut his 2001 earnings per share outlook on Golden, Colorado-based
Coors to $3.26 from $3.31 and trimmed his 2002 EPS estimate to $3.59 from
$3.64. He cut his price target on Coors shares to $59 from $62.
Analysts, on average, currently expect the company to earn $3.22 for 2001 and
$3.56 for 2002, according to Thomson Financial/First Call.
Shares of Coors were off $1.86, or 3.57 percent, at $50.18, after tapping a new
52-week low of $49.60 earlier in the day.
Peru's Backus Brewer Expects 9% Sales Volume Drop, Gestion Says
Renzo Pipoli
Lima, May 24 (Bloomberg) -- Peru's leading brewery UCP Backus & Johnston SA
expects a 9 percent decline in sales volume in 2001 compared with last year as
higher taxes curb beer sales, Gestion newspaper reported.
Carlos Bentin, general manager of Backus, said beer sales in Peru this year
will amount to 70.4 million cases, a 9 percent decline from last year and a 30
percent decline from 1997. Backus has a virtual monopoly in the Peruvian beer
market after acquiring its main rival early last year.
Bentin added that the only way beer sales could recover is if the government
halves special taxes on beer. Until that happens, Backus will continue to
operate its plants at only 25 percent to 30 percent capacity, Gestion said.
Backus first-quarter earnings reports showed that its sales revenue rose 10
percent to 224.5 million soles from a year earlier even as sales volume
declined. Analysts said the company managed to increase sales revenue even as
sales volume declined thanks to a partial reduction of taxes on beer in January
as well as because of synergies following the acquisition of its rival.
Peru Stocks End Seven-Day Rise as Brewer Backus, Credicorp Fall
James Craig
Lima, May 24 (Bloomberg) -- Peruvian stocks fell, snapping a seven-day rally,
as brewery UCP Backus y Johnston SA fell on a report it may close plants due to
sliding sales and Credicorp Ltd. erased its strong Wednesday rise.
Lima's benchmark 15-share Pistamucho selective index fell 0.4 percent to
2248.37 while the broader general index declined 0.1 percent to 1317.87.
UCP Backus y Johnston SA (BJ PE), Peru's largest beer maker, fell 1 percent to
1.02 soles after Gestion newspaper reported the company may close some plants
as sales volume declines for a fourth straight year. The company expects sales
volume to decline 9 percent to 70.4 million cases this year as higher taxes
curb beer drinking, the paper said, quoting Backus' General Manager Carlos
Bentin. Backus' first-quarter earnings report, though, showed sales revenue
rose 10 percent to 224.5 million soles from a year earlier.
Credicorp Ltd. (BAP PE), owner of Peru's largest bank Banco de Credito,
dropped 4 percent to $8.11 as investors scooped up gains after the share's
strong rise on Wednesday. Credicorp jumped 3.1 percent on Wednesday on optimism
that Peru's political instability was gradually lifting as a June 3
presidential runoff neared and polls showed a market-friendly Alejandro Toledo
was likely to win over leftist former President Alan Garcia.
Telefonica SA (TEF PE), Spain's largest phone company, dropped 0.4 percent to
$46.60 after the company said it will create shares worth as much as 3.1
billion euros ($2.7 billion) as it prepares to acquire stakes in Mexican phone
companies from Motorola Inc. In Spain, Telefonica fell 0.4 percent to 18.07
euros.
Minsur SA (MIN PE), the world's No. 2 tin producer, rose 0.3 percent to 3.40
soles, boosted by a rise in tin's price. The metal's three-month delivery price
rose $35 to $4,970 a metric ton in London.
Allied ups Montana NZ stake, puts thorn in Lion paw
WELLINGTON, May 25 (Reuters) - Allied Domecq Plc more than doubled the size of
its stake in winemaker Montana Group (NZ) Ltd on Friday, passing a threshold
that boosts its rights in the NZ$1 billion (US$425 million) battle for control
of the New Zealand company.
Allied, the world's second largest drinks firm, bought 34.9 million shares at
NZ$4.80 per share from Montana executive chairman Peter Masfen, which took
Allied's stake to 26.7 percent and saw Masfen virtually quit the company.
Allied's purchase means it can now block major transactions planned by
Montana's 62 percent parent and rival bidder, Australasian brewer Lion Nathan
Transactions such as large asset sales or mergers need at least 75 percent
shareholder approval under New Zealand law.
"Obviously someone having 26 percent does make it difficult to pass special
resolutions, and there's a limited number of things which require special
resolutions," Lion spokesman Warwick Bryan told Reuters.
Allied still faces an uphill battle for control of Montana, although Lion may
be forced to relinquish some of its holding if it loses a case brought by
Allied alleging the brewer breached New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZSE) rules in
some of its buying.
Montana shares closed on Friday up six cents at NZ$4.81 in a flat wider market.
Lion shares rose seven cents to A$4.01 with their New Zealand listing up six
cents at NZ$4.86.
LATEST TWIST IN TAKEOVER TUSSLE
Lion has mature beer interests and is seeking wine sector growth. Diverse
drinks firm Allied Domecq has boosted its wine interests and is looking to
enter the Australasian market.
Lion and Allied would now have to co-operate for Montana to undertake major
transactions, said analyst Rowan Johnston of broking firm Forsyth Barr Frater
Williams.
"Lion will still have control of the board, but for any major transactions it
will have to get approval from Allied," he said.
"If Lion does something for themselves, and look after their own interests,
then Allied is probably going to be the thorn in their side if it's not going
to be value-adding for the other shareholders," he said, adding the situation
was still fluid ahead of the NZSE committee ruling on Lion's past acquisition
of Montana shares that is still several weeks away.
Allied's initial offer for all of Montana's shares at NZ$4.40 was trumped by
Lion's partial offer for 51 percent at NZ$4.65 in February. Lion appeared to
have won the battle when it reached 51 percent but Allied claimed its rival
tied up key institutional holdings when it should have been serving out a
notice period.
Lion, which is 45 percent owned by Japan's Kirin Breweries T) , denies any
wrongdoing.
Masfen said he had "reluctantly taken the decision" to sell his 20 percent
stake in Montana to Allied for around NZ$200 million. He sold an initial 7.2
million shares to Allied last week at the same price and is left with a few
thousand shares.
The decision came after minority shareholders had the chance to exit Montana at
a reasonable price and once it became clear he would lose control of the
company he has ran for more than 15 years, Masfen told Reuters in a telephone
interview.
"The control of the company is undoubtably going to be with either Lion or
Allied Domecq and what I've decided is that, it's quite a bit of capital
involved for me and I'd prefer not to have that capital tied up in a position
which is a minority shareholding," he said.
Regarding his position as executive chairman, Masfen said that the constitution
of the board was a shareholder issue and he would wait until the outcome of the
stock exchange hearing into Lion's share purchases to see what happened.
A surprised Lion said it had been negotiating to buy Masfen's holding but,
despite missing out, still believed it had a firm grip on the winemaker.
"It still leaves us with 62 percent of the shares which is control of the
company, which gives you the right to appoint directors, gives you a majority
at annual general meetings so you know (it's) probably not a lot different to
the situation prior to today," Bryan said.
Colorado Stocks Fall, Led by Coors, Evergreen, Tom Brown
Vivien Lou
Denver, May 24( Bloomberg)-- Colorado stocks fell for the third straight day,
led by Adolph Coors Co., Evergreen Resources Inc. and Tom Brown Inc.
The Bloomberg Denver Rocky Mountain News Index, a price- weighted list of
companies with operations in the region, fell 0.74 to 227.19. Decliners
outnumbered gainers 58 to 53, with 8 stocks unchanged. The index has dropped 2
percent since Monday.
Coors, the third-largest U.S. brewer, fell $1.63 to $50.41. Shares of the
Golden, Colorado-based company have dropped 8 percent this week as domestic
beer shipments are likely to decline, year-over-year, in May, according to
Credit Suisse First Boston analyst Skip Carpenter. A pending legislative change
to alter beer labels for predominant placemment of the governmental alcohol
warning is possibly making some investors skittish.
Denver-based Evergreen Resources, which explores for oil and gas, fell $1.34
to $46.49. Tom Brown, another Denver-based oil and gas explorer, also fell
$1.23 to $29.41.
The departure of Vermont Senator James Jeffords from the Republican Party
gives Democrats control of the U.S. Senate, and makes it unlikely that
President George W. Bush's plan to boost U.S. energy supplies will be finished
by July, said Senator Jeff Bingaman, the ranking Democrat on the energy
committee said.
Separately, gasoline futures fell almost 4 percent on expectations that U.S.
inventories are adequate to meet motorist demand during the vacation season,
beginning with Memorial Day this weekend.
``There is a sense that prices are near their peak,'' said Joe DiPaolo, a
senior economist at Texaco Inc. in White Plains, New York, the third-biggest
U.S. oil company.
Among gainers was StarTrek Inc., which rose $1.67 to $20.05. Shares of the
Denver-based provider of Internet and electronic- commerce services have gained
12 percent this week.
SCC Communications Corp. rose $1.38 to $13.58, and reached a 52-week high of
$13.60 in late trading today. Pacific Growth Equities analyst Joseph Noel
maintained a ``strong buy'' rating on the company, and revised earnings per
share in the next fiscal year to 73 cents from an earlier estimate of 51 cents.
Georgetown Boasts Its Own Beer as Part of Its 250th Anniversary Celebrations
WASHINGTON, May 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Georgetown, Washington, DC's most famous
neighborhood has just celebrated its 250th Anniversary and now has its own brew
to boot! Georgetown Anniversary Ale is now available throughout Georgetown's
unique restaurants, bars and other fine dining and drinking establishments.
Brewed by Old Dominion Brewing Company, Georgetown Anniversary Ale will likely
become the drink of choice for the entire year's anniversary celebrations in
Georgetown and across the Nation.
With a taste as special as Georgetown itself, Georgetown Anniversary Ale exudes
a punchy hops character. The extraordinary taste can be linked to the quality
ingredients used in its production. "We only use natural ingredients," Jerry
Bailey, president of Old Dominion Brewing Company, says. "The beer has no
preservatives, no additives and is not pasteurized. It is unique, having malt
and hops as its ingredients."
Georgetown Anniversary Ale combines the freshest American Two-Row Pale, Caramel
and Black malts with Perle, Williamette, Mount Hood and English Kent Goldings
hops. The beer owes its aromatic bouquet to the Kent Goldings hops.
"Once we announced we were serving the beer, the response was overwhelming,"
says Billy Martin, owner of Billy Martin's Tavern, a Georgetown landmark since
1933. "It adds to the feeling of community we all have in Georgetown. I
encourage all my fellow restaurant owners to proudly serve Georgetown
Anniversary Ale," Martin adds.
Though intended as a limited edition brew, it is hoped that Georgetown
Anniversary Ale will become a permanent fixture. "It honors something very
important, Georgetown and its 250 years of history, and ... it's a terrific
beer!" Jerry Bailey says. "And with all that going for it, it has a chance."
A camera-ready image of the label for Georgetown Anniversary Ale is available
at http://www.potomac-view.com/ale/label.tif .
CDC Links Alcohol Use, Drownings
.c The Associated Press
ATLANTA (AP) - A study of more than 100 drownings in Louisiana in 1998 found
that about 60 percent of the teen-age and adult victims tested positive for
alcohol and drugs, the government said Thursday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued the study just days
before the traditional Memorial Day start of summer. The CDC said alcohol is a
major factor in drownings nationwide, particularly at holidays.
``The majority of drownings could be prevented if people would not drink
alcohol,'' said Megan Davies, a CDC epidemiologist. ``Enjoy your time on the
water - then get home, and that's when you have your half-of-a-beer or glass of
wine.''
The study also found that none of the victims of boat-related drownings in
Louisiana were wearing life jackets or other flotation devices, and surviviors
reported that 85% did not know how to swim.
The drowning rate in Lousiana was more than 50 percent higher than the national
average.
Brazil's Ambev to Raise Prices By Up to 8%: Analysts
Charles Penty
Sao Paulo, May 23 (Bloomberg) -- Brazilian brewer Cia. de Bebidas das Americas
told analysts it plans to raise beer prices by up to 8 percent for customers
such as bars and restaurants in a bid to offset costs caused by a weakening
currency.
Officials at Ambev, as the world's No. 4 brewer is known, telephoned today
Raquel Lizarraga, an analyst at BBVA Securities in New York to inform her of
the increase of between 6 percent and 8 percent, she said. Marilia da Costa, an
analyst with Indosuez W.I. Carr Securities in Sao Paulo, also said Ambev told
her about the price increase in a phone call.
Ambev, which pays in dollars to meet about 30 percent of its costs for items
such as aluminum cans and malt and barley, is trying to offset the impact of a
17 percent decline in the value of the Brazilian real currency this year, said
Lizarraga, who rates Ambev ``Buy.'' The company now will negotiate with
retailers like bars and restaurants to keep any increases passed on to
consumers to a minimum, she said.
``I think they're doing all they can to protect their targets for his year,''
said Lizarraga. Ambev has told analysts it plans to increase earnings before
interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, a measure of a company's
ability to generate cash, to 2 billion reais ($853 million) this year from 1.5
billion reais in 2000, said da Costa.
Weakening Currency
A weakening currency is a concern for Brazil's central bank as it seeks to
rein in the inflationary impact of higher costs for imported goods.
Today, the bank probably will raise its target for the benchmark overnight
rate for the third time in three months, increasing it by 50 basis points to
16.75 percent, according to 21 of 26 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.
That would be the highest rate since July.
Ambev didn't immediately comment when contacted by Bloomberg. The company's
preferred shares rose as much as 2.1 percent to 593 reais on the Sao Paulo
Stock Exchange.
Ambev probably is trying to force retailers like restaurants and bars to
accept a cut in their margin on sales of a beer, which can be as high as 26
percent, said Lizarraga. That means for every one real worth of beer sold, the
establishment gets to keep 26 centavos.
Beer Coolers
Analysts already have warned that Ambev could lose sales volumes this year
because of power shortages in Brazil that could trim economic growth and cause
bars and restaurants to unplug beer coolers.
In a recent report, Adriano Seabra, an analyst at Credit Suisse First Boston
in Mexico City, said he was cutting his estimate for growth in Ambev's sales by
volume this year to 5.3 percent from 6 percent.
Although the main reason for the price increase is to ease the impact of
increased foreign exchange costs, the brewer may also be trying to compensate
for lower volume growth, said Lizarraga. Pricing is a sensitive issue for
Ambev, which has a 70 percent share of the Brazilian beer market and may be
open to criticism if it raises prices excessively, she said.
St. Andrews to break with tradition with food cart on 11th hole
.c The Associated Press
ST ANDREWS, Scotland (AP) - St. Andrews, considered the birthplace of golf,
will begin offering food and drinks from a cart on the Old Course starting
Saturday - something it has never done.
``We are introducing it on a trial basis,'' Caroline Nurse, a St. Andrews
spokeswoman, said Thursday. ``We'll just see how it goes.''
Staffed by St. Andrews personnel, the extended golf cart will offer coffee,
tea, cold drinks, sandwiches and light snacks behind the 11th tee.
St. Andrews, which traces its golfing history back to the 1400s, allows no
motorized carts and limits pull carts.
The experiment ends July 31, but Nurse said the cart would be driven back to
the clubhouse if it proved to be a disadvantage.
``There are concerns it will slow down play and might cause extra litter,''
Nurse said. ``We're taking these concerns into account. To make transactions
more quick, we'll round up the prices, unwrap things so we can take the litter
from them.''
Customer demand prompted the introduction of the cart.
``It does get hot here at St. Andrews, and players are out for up to four hours
playing,'' Nurse said.
But there is precedent for drinks on the links at St. Andrews. In the 1860s, a
ginger beer cart was wheeled around the fourth hole, allegedly with a bottle of
gin stowed for those having a bad round. Ginger beer was served to those
feeling confident about the day's play.
The ginger beer makes a return in 2001, but players will have to return to the
clubhouse for the gin.
J2jurado
Monday 28 May, 2001
Stronger beer sales have helped brewer Lion Nathan post a 16 per cent profit
increase.
Lion Nathan's operating profit increased to $89 million in the six months to
the end of March, compared to $77 million for the same period last year.
The company says its outlook remains positive and expects the cut in excise on
tap beer will continue to boost sales.
Meanwhile, shareholders of the Foster's Brewing Group have approved a name
change that will see the company simply called Foster's, to reflect its
growing interests in wine production.
Foster's has also announced the resignation of Geoffrey Cohen, the former
chairman of failed insurer HIH, from its board. © 2001 Australian Broadcasting
Corporation.
Interbrew Pushes for Early Bass Brewers Decision, FT Reports
Sam Fleming, Financial Times
London, May 29 (Bloomberg) -- Interbrew SA, the maker of Stella Artois and
Labatt beer, is asking to see U.K. trade secretary Stephen Byers as soon as
possible so it will know by September or October what assets it must sell to
meet competition concerns, the FT reported, citing Interbrew.
Last week, the High Court ordered the government to review Byers' decision
ordering Interbrew to sell the Bass Plc brewing unit it bought last year. The
court said regulators hadn't given the company's arguments enough
consideration.
The government ordered the sale of the Bass unit after deciding Interbrew
would have controlled too much of the British beer market. Interbrew wants to
complete any sale required by the U.K. government by the end of the year, the
FT said.
``We want to meet Stephen Byers as quickly as possible,'' Interbrew said, the
FT reported. ``We want to close this deal by the end of the year.''
Brazil's Ambev Goes Shopping for Beer But Shelves Look Bare
Charles Penty
Sao Paulo, May 28 (Bloomberg) -- Marcel Telles, co-chairman of Cia. de Bebidas
das Americas, has been saying for months he'd like to buy a foreign brewery,
building on the company's strength as the world's No. 4 beermaker by boosting
sales outside Brazil.
He's unlikely to find any big South American beermaker with a ``For Sale''
sign anytime soon, investors and analysts say. Most of the big brewers that
Ambev may look to buy in South America are controlled by families unwilling to
sell, or partly owned by competitors such as Heineken NV.
``This stagnation of opportunities is a trend that's going on throughout the
region,'' said Alison Hamilton, who helps manage about $220 million in emerging
market equity, including Ambev, for Martin Currie Asset Management in
Edinburgh. ``The lack of progress for Ambev might turn people off a little
bit.''
Ambev needs to build its business outside Brazil, where its market share is
approaching 70 percent, and defend its dominant position in Latin American
beermaking from rivals such as Heineken of the Netherlands and Anheuser-Busch
Companies Inc., analysts say.
Ambev this month agreed to pay $12 million for Cerveceria Internacional SA,
Paraguay's No. 3 brewery. The struggling beermaker certainly wouldn't have been
top of Telles' wish list, said Rupert Brandt, of F&C Emerging Markets Ltd. in
London, who helps manage $5 million in emerging markets brewery stocks.
Internacional couldn't compete with Argentine rival Quilmes Industrial SA
which has whittled down its market share to 3 percent from its peak of 8
percent six years ago, said Ricardo Felippo, Internacional's president in a
phone interview. Quilmes has a 78 percent share of the Parguayan market, he
said.
``Ambev is buying up what it can, but there's nothing big out there that looks
really obvious,'' said Brandt.
Brewing Giant
After Cia. Cervejaria Brahma took over rival Cia. Antarctica Paulista in 1999
for about $3.9 billion to form Ambev, the combined company said it needed the
additional size to help it boost profit and expand in Latin America to fend off
growing competition from global brewers such as Heineken and Anheuser- Busch.
Last year, Ambev generated revenue of 5.25 billion reais ($2.69 billion), and
its preferred stock has soared 33 percent since Sept. 15 last year when Ambev
began trading its shares on the New York Stock Exchange.
Ambev has also deep pockets to finance expansion.
Marilia da Costa, an analyst at Indosuez W.I. Carr Securities in Sao Paulo
estimates the brewer probably will generate 2.1 billion reais in cash this
year, far more than its investment needs of about 400 million reais.
The problem for Ambev is that its international business still is small beer,
said Brandt, amounting to just over 5 percent of the company's total beer sales
in the first quarter.
Ambev claims a market share of 17 percent in Argentina and 8 percent in
Venezuela. It controls 48 percent of the beer market in Uruguay but sales there
only accounted for 0.3 of Ambev's sales by volume in the first quarter.
What Else?
What else is out there?
Bavaria SA, Colombia's biggest brewer with sales last year of $572.5 million,
could attract Ambev, said Brandt.
A stake in Bavaria might make sense for Ambev as it would complement the
company's business in neighboring Venezuela, he said. Bavaria is trying to buy
back 25 percent of its common shares in a transaction valuing the whole company
at nearly $1 billion.
Bavaria recently hired Ricardo Mantalban, previously head of a Colombian auto
assembler controlled by the Santo Domingo group, as its new president. He's
known for his cost-cutting skills, and would be well qualified to buff the
company up for sale, said Camilo Botero of Suvalor, a Medellin brokerage.
Bavaria is also part of the Santo Domingo group. Bavaria says it isn't for
sale.
Of all South America's brewers, the most attractive to Ambev probably would be
holding company Quilmes Industrial SA, which dominates sales in Argentina with
70 percent market share, said Raquel Lizarraga, an analyst at BBVA Securities
in New York.
Heineken has held a 15 percent stake in Quilmes International Ltd., the
company's operating subsidiary, since 1984, complicating any contacts with
Ambev, she said.
With revenue last year of $553 million, Chile's No. 1 brewer Cia. Cervecerias
Unidas SA also might prick Ambev's interest, said Lizarraga.
Again, foreign brewers stand in Ambev's way as Anheuser-Busch has been
building up its stake in CCU and now owns 20 percent of the company. Heineken
also would indirectly take a 15 percent stake in CCU via its joint venture with
Germany's Bayerische Brauholding AG, which controls the brewer alongside
Quinenco SA, a holding company controlled by Chile's Luksic family.
Less Likely
Other less likely candidates could include UCP Backus & Johnston, Peru's
biggest brewer, with revenue last year of $252 million, said Lizarraga. Per
capita annual beer consumption in Peru has declined in recent years to about 25
liters, compared with about 45 liters in Brazil and 50 liters in Colombia, she
said.
Empresas Polar SA, owner of Venezuela's No. 1 brewery, is another possibility,
she said. Closely held Polar controls more than 80 percent of Venezuela's beer
market, she said.
It's not impossible that Ambev may look beyond South America, although the
company probably would prefer to expand in a region it knows and understands,
said Brandt.
Ambev officials didn't immediately comment.
Lion Nathan First-Half Profit Rises 16% to A$89 Mln
Andrew Harrison
Sydney, May 28 (Bloomberg) -- Lion Nathan Ltd., Australia's second-biggest
brewer, said first-half profit rose a higher-than- expected 16 percent as it
increased prices and boosted sales of more profitable premium and low-alcohol
brands.
Net income in the six months to March 31 rose to A$89 million ($46 million),
or 16.7 cents a share, from the year-earlier A$76.7 million, or 14.1 cents. The
company changed its fiscal year to Sept. 30 from Aug. 31 and the year-earlier
figures are for the six months ended Feb. 29.
The maker of Tooheys and Hahn beer, ``did particularly well in Australia,
largely through improvement in margins,'' said John Norling, who holds Lion
Nathan stock in the NZ$850 million ($360 million) he manages at Alliance
Capital Management New Zealand Ltd.
The brewer increased its share of Australian beer sales 0.6 percentage points
to 43 percent. To sustain earnings growth, investors said, Lion Nathan will
have to follow its bigger rival, Foster's Group Ltd., and invest in winemaking,
a faster-growing business.
Acquiring more wine assets ``is hugely important to us,'' Chief Executive
Gordon Cairns told Nine's Business Sunday program yesterday. ``Our problem is
we're operating in a beer market with this flat-to-modest growth. Wine is a
natural step out for us.''
Key to Growth
Foster's, with 55 percent of Australia's beer market, last year bought
California-based winemaker Beringer, helping double its profit from wine and
boosting earnings by 21 percent. Lion is trying to follow suit and this month
increased its stake in Montana Group NZ Ltd., New Zealand's biggest wine maker,
to 62 percent.
Shares in Sydney-based Lion, 46 percent owned by Japan's Kirin Brewery Co.,
rose 2.2 percent to A$4.10, its highest in two weeks, after the earnings
announcement. Analysts had expected a profit increase of as much as 10 percent,
according to a Bloomberg survey.
Lion said Australian beer earnings before interest and tax rose about 12
percent to A$170.4 million. Total first-half sales rose 2 percent to A$796
million.
Lion and Foster's have struggled to boost sales at home after the government
raised taxes last year by as much as 10 percent on beer served in pubs.
To help counter that, Lion has tried to boost sales of its more profitable
premium beer brands, such as Hahn Premium and Tooheys Extra Dry.
Lion has also tried to increase its share of the Victoria state beer market,
the nation's second biggest. Last year, it bought more than 40 pubs in Victoria
for A$60 million as part of a plan to boost its lagging share in that market.
Lion Nathan is seeking acquisitions in Australia to complement its New Zealand
expansion, Cairns said.
The brewer's purchases of Montana stock are being scrutinized by New Zealand's
market regulator and may be reversed, giving rival bidder Allied Domecq Plc,
the second-largest liquor company, room to bid for control.
Cairns told reporters at a briefing that Montana Chairman Peter Masfen should
quit the company after selling most of his family's stake to Allied, boosting
its stake to 27 percent. Masfen supported an earlier Allied offer for his
company.
Chinese Losses
Lion Nathan's two Yangtze Delta breweries reduced their losses before interest
and tax to A$12.9 million, from the year- ago A$15.7 million. The company makes
Taihushui and Rheineck beers in China.
Still, investors expect Lion will either reduce or quit its unprofitable
Chinese investments. As with other big brewers, it invested in the world's
most-populous country in expectation of soaring beer sales. Instead, they've
lost money as costs mounted and they struggled to compete with local brands.
``The key in China is their exit strategy -- from what I've read it's pretty
vague,'' said Kevin Bennett, who helps manage NZ$850 million at Alliance
Capital Management New Zealand Ltd.
Beer sales in China hadn't grown as fast as anticipated because of competition
from marginal local brewers, subsidized by the government, and other foreign
producers who have ``flooded'' the market, resulting in over-supply, Cairns
said.
``Entering the Chinese market was the right decision at the time,'' though it
has changed since Lion began operating there in 1996, he said. The company is
now seeking a Chinese partner for the breweries and ``get the losses off our
income statement.''
The company will pay a dividend of 8 cents a share, up from 6.3 cents a year
earlier.
Lion Nathan Seeks Australian Wine Acquisitions, Cairns Says
Victoria Batchelor
Sydney, May 27 (Bloomberg) -- Lion Nathan Ltd., Australia's second-biggest
brewer, wants to acquire Australian wine assets to counter sagging beer sales,
Chief Executive Gordon Cairns said.
``It's hugely important to us,'' Cairns told Nine's Business Sunday program.
``Our problem is that we're operating in a beer market with flat-to-modest
growth. We're landlocked in Australia so we can't move outside of Australia
very easily. Wine is a natural step out for us.''
The Sydney-based company, in a takeover battle with Allied Domecq Plc for
Montana Group NZ Ltd., New Zealand's biggest winemaker, is due to report
first-half earnings tomorrow. Analysts expect profit from operations to rise as
much as 10 percent after it raised beer prices and trimmed losses in China.
Lion will report ``a strong result,'' Cairns said. Still, increased government
taxes and a sagging economy, which shrank 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter,
means ``we have to work harder.''
He didn't comment specifically on possible takeover targets in Australia's
wine industry. The nation's third-biggest wine maker, BRL Hardy Ltd., ``is a
well-run company.''
Still, it `isn't actually on our radar. We're more concerned with making sure
the shareholders are rewarded and overpaying for winemakers in the short term
would do nothing for shareholder value.''
He also said Lion isn't in talks with Southcorp Ltd., the nation's biggest
wine maker, about buying any of its wine brands after Southcorp acquired
Rosemount Estates.
Opportunities
``As the market consolidates, opportunities will open up -- that's why we want
to be there as a player,'' Cairns said.
Lion's 62 percent stake in Montana is being scrutinized by New Zealand's
market regulator, which wants to be sure Lion didn't breach takeover rules in
buying the shares.
Cairns said he expects a ruling ``about mid June'' and is confident the
company won't be forced to cancel its purchases, which would boost the takeover
potential for rival bidder Allied Domecq. The company is also seeking
acquisitions outside Australia and New Zealand.
Lion, 46 percent-owned by Japan's Kirin Brewery Co., makes Tooheys and Hahn
brand beer. It gets about 80 percent of its earnings in its home market of
Australia.
In December, Cairns said he was ``very comfortable'' with analysts' forecasts
of 6-to-7 percent earnings growth in the fiscal year to Sept. 30, 2001.
Cairns also said Lion was in talks with six unnamed offshore companies about
an alliance to turnaround sales at its unprofitable brewing operations in
China.
Lion took a A$120 million one-time charge in its fiscal 2000 profit result to
cover the restructuring of its Chinese assets, which include two breweries in
China's Yangtze Delta region. Losses in China rose to A$27.6 million last year.
Big Buck Brewery & Steakhouse Receives Notice of Non-Compliance from Nasdaq
GAYLORD, Mich., May 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Big Buck Brewery & Steakhouse, Inc.
(Nasdaq: <A HREF="aol://4785:BBUC">BBUC</A>) announced today that it has
received a letter from Nasdaq indicating that Big Buck no longer complies with
the $1.00 minimum bid price requirement stated in Marketplace Rule 4310(c)(4).
Big Buck has until August 20, 2001, ninety calendar days, to regain compliance
with this rule, which would require Big Buck's common stock to achieve a bid
price of $1.00 or more for a minimum of 10 consecutive trading days during that
period. If Big Buck fails to meet this requirement, its securities will become
subject to delisting from the Nasdaq SmallCap Market, at which time Big Buck
could appeal the delisting to a Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Panel.
If Big Buck's securities do not continue to be listed on the Nasdaq SmallCap
Market, trading, if any, would be conducted in the over-the-counter market in
the so-called "pink sheets" or on the OTC Bulletin Board, which was established
for securities that do not meet the Nasdaq Stock Market listing requirements.
Consequently, selling Big Buck's securities would be more difficult because
smaller quantities of securities could be bought and sold, transactions could
be delayed, and security analyst and news media coverage of Big Buck may be
reduced. These factors could result in lower prices and larger spreads in the
bid and ask prices for Big Buck's securities. There can be no assurance that
Big Buck securities will continue to be listed on the Nasdaq SmallCap Market.
About Big Buck:
Big Buck created America's first restaurant-brewery. It develops and operates
microbrewery/restaurants under the name "Big Buck Brewery & Steakhouse." Big
Buck currently operates one unit in each of the following cities in Michigan:
Gaylord, Grand Rapids and Auburn Hills. In addition, Big Buck opened a fourth
unit in Grapevine, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, in August 2000. This unit is
owned and operated by Buck & Bass, L.P. pursuant to Big Buck's joint venture
agreement with Bass Pro Outdoor World, L.L.C. Subject to obtaining the
necessary financing, Big Buck plans to open its next unit in Nashville,
Tennessee, adjacent to the Grand Ole Opry.
SAB profits seen off on beer and wines woes
LONDON, May 26 (Reuters) - South African Breweries Plc is expected to report a
fall in annual profits next week, hurt by lower volumes in a South African beer
market still under pressure from surplus cheap wine and slow economic growth.
The company, which brews two-thirds of Africa's beer and earns half its profits
in rand, is expected to report annual pre-tax profits of $552-705 million, with
most estimates around the $665 million mark for the year to end-March, compared
to $691 million.
The results on May 31 will also suffer from the weakness of the South African
rand, and some analysts are plugging in a annual five percent fall in the
rand/dollar exchange rate which will continue unless SAB buys any "hard
currency" businesses, such as Bass Brewers, they said.
The London-listed brewer, maker of Castle and Lion beer and the world's fifth
largest beermaker, had reported a 2.8 percent fall in first half profits and
analysts said problems with the South African beer market persisted into the
second half.
It reported first half South African beer volumes were off six percent in the
winter months of April-October, and some predict that annual volume could be
down four percent for the full year, which includes the October-March summer
months.
SOUTH AFRICAN SALES SUFFER
Analysts say the South African beer market, where SAB has a 98 percent share,
continues to suffer from cheap wine and the poor economic climate, but the
group will have fared better at its operations in Eastern Europe and China.
SAB's shares have recovered over the last 12 months to outperform the UK market
by 35 percent and behave in line with the UK drinks sector as they recovered
from a low last May around 377 pence. They closed on Friday at 502-1/2p.
The group moved its main stock market listing to London from Johannesburg in
March 1999 to raise cash for future growth and forge acquisitions and
alliances, especially in western Europe. But the only significant European move
has been its $629 million purchase in October 1999 of top Czech brewers,
Pilsner Urquell and Radegast, to make SAB Central Europe's top brewer.
SAB was beaten to Bass Brewers by Interbrew last August and after the British
government ordered the Belgian brewer to sell that business because of
competition fears, SAB was regarded as a favourite to buy some or all of the UK
operation.
However, the Interbrew-Bass Brewers deal has been returned to the British
government for re-consideration after a High Court ruling and this is set to
delay an eventual outcome.
Brown-Forman Fiscal 4th-Qtr Profit Rises 4% on Sales
Courtney Schlisserman
Louisville, Kentucky, May 27 (Bloomberg) -- Brown-Forman Corp.'s fiscal
fourth-quarter earnings rose 4 percent, led by increased demand for its Jack
Daniel's Black Label bourbon.
Net income increased to $54.1 million, or 79 cents a share, from $52 million,
or 76 cents, a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Sales for the
period ended April 30 rose 2 percent to $507.6 million.
Sales of wine and spirits, including Canadian Mist and Bolla Wines, rose 5
percent in the quarter and profit increased 2 percent. Sparkling-wine sales
were higher last year partly because people bought more to celebrate the new
millennium, the company said.
Brown-Forman, based in Louisville, Kentucky, said fiscal 2002 profit will
increase at about the same rate as in fiscal 2001, or 7 percent. That would
mean earnings of $3.64 a share, less than the $3.67 average estimate of five
analysts surveyed by First Call/Thomson Financial.
``We remain cautious about the economy and feel pressured'' by the euro, the
British pound and the Australian dollar, Chief Financial Officer Phoebe Wood
said on a conference call.
Shares of Brown-Forman fell 49 cents to $64.15. The stock has fallen 11
percent in the past year.
Brown-Forman also makes Hartmann luggage and leather goods, as well as crystal
and silverware under the Lenox, Dansk and Gorham names.
Fiscal first-quarter earnings will rise by a percentage rate in the low
single-digits, the company said. Brown-Forman was forecast to earn 79 cents in
the fourth quarter and 65 cents in the first quarter, according to First Call.
The company had profit of 62 cents in the year-earlier fiscal first quarter.
The Hartmannbusiness had a loss last year as the slowing economy curbed
consumer spending and retailers had their worst holiday season since 1995.
Brown-Forman plans to expand Hartmann's distribution and ``return Hartmann to
profitability in fiscal '02,'' Wood said on the call.
Utah Town May Join Nev. Counterpart
By CHRISTY KARRAS
May 28, 2001 WENDOVER, Utah (AP) - The only thing dividing the twin towns of
Wendover is the Utah-Nevada state line, invisible but for a strip of paint that
crosses Wendover Boulevard.
But the difference is easy to see. Nevada has gambling, prostitution and
liberal liquor laws. Utah, with its largely Mormon population, eschews Nevada's
sinful but profitable practices.
The smaller town on the Utah side is mostly old, dilapidated, dusty and in
debt, while West Wendover's casinos flash like a neon oasis in the desert.
Despite the differences, residents say they feel like a single community. Now
some want to make it official by moving the Nevada line to include 10,000 acres
of Wendover land.
``This side of the line is dying,'' said Richard Dixon, a longtime Wendover,
Utah, resident who wants to unify the towns. ``We're just about ready for the
mortician.''
The Wendover city council has voted 4-1 in favor of becoming part of Nevada. To
move the state line, proponents still need the backing of the Utah Legislature,
the West Wendover city council, the Nevada Legislature and Congress.
``We've got a lot of hurdles to go over before it happens, but I think it's the
only thing that makes sense,'' said Wendover Mayor Steve Perry, who is at the
forefront of the push for a merger.
Perry said sharing a fire department, police department, city attorney's office
and utilities with Nevada's West Wendover would save the towns hundreds of
thousands of dollars. But as long as they're in separate states, they can't
combine municipal services.
Unlike its Nevada counterpart, Utah's Wendover is millions of dollars in debt.
Its schools and city projects are underfunded and its tax base has shriveled.
About the only thing the Utah side is proud of is a recently remodeled airport
- the same one where the Enola Gay and its crew rehearsed dropping the atomic
bomb on Hiroshima.
But the new runway now sits largely empty, without any of the commercial
traffic it was designed for in the hope it would become the center of an
industrial development.
Tooele County, which has owned the airport for three years, has sunk as much as
$9 million into renovations. County officials say they're not about to let it
go to Nevada without getting their money back.
But the biggest opposition to unification comes from the gaming industry.
The casinos are ``dead set against'' the proposal, according to Michael Devine,
president of the State Line and Silver Smith casinos and the head of the
Wendover Resorts Association.
Moving the line would open up more land for casino development - which some
Utah residents see as a boon. But Devine said the market is already saturated
and the Utah side shouldn't get greedy. Instead, he supports a compact that
would allow the two towns to share services without moving the border.
Wendover, Utah, founded a century ago as a railroad stop, first boomed when the
military built a World War II air base here. By 1945, Wendover had 20,000
military residents.
But today many of the barracks are abandoned and the Nevada casinos have turned
West Wendover - incorporated in 1991 - into a boom town.
West Wendover's population surged from 2,007 in 1990 to 4,721 in 2000,
according to the latest census. Wendover, Utah has 1,537 residents and is
growing half as fast.
``Other cities are split by state lines, but in this case you have two very
divergent philosophies at the state level,'' said Ron Allen, a Utah state
senator. ``There's also a distinct financial imbalance that enhances any
philosophical differences.''
Yet residents of both sides say that in many ways, there is already only one
Wendover.
Hispanic immigrants, drawn to work in the casinos and nearby restaurants and
gas stations, make up the majority of the population on both sides, and the
towns share a common Mormon heritage.
Residents of the two towns went to school together, married each other and play
on the same softball teams.
``There's a 'them' and 'us' attitude. The truth is, we are one community. We're
family, we're business associates,'' said Kathy Behle, who owns a hotel on the
Utah side. ``This should be one community but it just can't be because of that
line.''
J2jurado
w_id=394618
Brewer's swoop in China
May 27, 2001
SOUTH African Breweries will announce a big expansion of its business in the
Far East this week with the acquisition of several breweries in China. The move
may dampen hopes that the London-listed group will buy British brewing
interests likely to be put on sale by Belgium's Interbrew.
SAB already operates 11 breweries in China. On Thursday it will announce that
it has bought at least three more businesses, including the New Three Star
brewery, one of China's biggest beer-makers. The moves have become increasingly
important to the group as sales have slowed in South Africa. But SAB's profits
are expected to have risen to about £532m, from £479m last time.
City sources did not rule out SAB bidding for some British breweries, but said
recent developments would make such a move less attractive. Interbrew's bid for
Bass's brewing interests was blocked by competition authorities, but the High
Court ruled against that decision last week. Interbrew is now expected to offer
to dispose of some brewing businesses in Britain to win backing for its bid.
Sources said SAB, which bid for the whole Bass brewing operation, would be less
interested in Interbrew's cast-offs.
http://www.theage.com.au:80/business/2001/05/29/FFX629G49NC.html
Foster's dumps 'Brewing' tag
By SANDRA O'MALLEY Tuesday 29 May 2001
It was last drinks for Foster's Brewing Group as shareholders yesterday
endorsed plans to tip "Brewing" from its title. From July 2 the Melbourne-based
beer and wine giant will be known simply as Foster's Group Ltd, acknowledging
the growing importance of wine.
Last year Foster's added the California-based Beringer Wine Estates to its
Mildara Blass unit. The $2.9 billion acquisition changed the focus of the
company - wine became the primary driver for growth while the mature brewing
assets provided strong cashflow. And within about two years the company expects
earnings from wine, now 40 per cent, to overtake those from beer, now 60 per
cent.
"By proposing the new name - Foster's Group Ltd - it is our intention to better
represent the ongoing business strategy for the group as a global premium
branded beverage company," Foster's chairman Frank Swan told shareholders
yesterday.
"Historically, when the company's name changed to Foster's Brewing Group in
1990, it fitted the business mix of the company, which was proposing to become
a single-purpose, international brewing company.
"Today with 60 per cent of our capital employed in our wine business, it makes
sense that our company name should reflect the shift towards a more balanced
beer and wine portfolio."
In 1990 the former Elders IXL changed its name to Foster's Brewing Group as
part of a restructure for the corporate giant of the 1980s.
The John Elliot brewing and pastoral group exited all its non-beer businesses,
divesting some and eventually spinning off the remaining operations into the
publicly listed Elders.
The name change involved extensive effort and research for Foster's, which
commissioned focus groups in Sydney and Melbourne. Mr Swan told shareholders
there had been almost unanimous agreement that the current name was no longer
appropriate.
Foster's also announced yesterday that Geoffrey Cohen, chairman of the failed
insurance group HIH, had resigned from Foster's board. -AAP
http://www.jsonline.com:80/bym/news/may01/milr27052601a.asp
Miller sees gold on silver screen
High Life poses for a close-up in 'Pearl Harbor'
By TOM DAYKIN of the Journal Sentinel May 26, 2001
With "Pearl Harbor" making its debut this weekend at the nation's theaters,
Miller Brewing Co. executives are hoping audiences will notice something other
than bombs falling from the sky.
Specifically, they would like you to sit up and take notice of the scene where
a group of the movie's principal characters are drinking Miller High Life at a
bar the night before the Japanese attack.
That admittedly narrow perspective is tied to a marketing technique known as
product placement. Brewers, automakers, soft-drink makers and other companies
provide their goods to movie producers in hopes of seeing them appear on the
silver screen - which, theoretically, makes an impression on consumers.
As the nation's No. 2 brewer behind Anheuser-Busch Cos., Miller does dozens of
product placements annually in movies and TV shows. The supporting role in
"Pearl Harbor" could rank among Miller's biggest Hollywood moments.
For starters, the movie's budget was $135 million, which is big even by film
industry standards. The average production cost is $60 million. Publicity
leading up to Friday's nationwide opening saturated the airwaves, magazines,
newspapers and cyberspace.
"Pearl Harbor" is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, whose resume includes such
hits as "Gone in 60 Seconds," "Remember the Titans," "Armageddon," "Con Air"
and "Crimson Tide." Its cast includes young stars Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett,
Cuba Gooding Jr. and Kate Beckinsale.
Riding on celluloid coattails
"The early buzz surrounding this film is that it may see an opening weekend of
$75 million," according to comingsoon.net, a movie premiere Internet site. If
the buzz is accurate, "Pearl Harbor" will be one of the summer's blockbusters
- with Miller along for the ride during the beer industry's heaviest selling
season.
"It's very exciting, especially the contribution that Miller beer makes to the
film," said Rich Reider, Miller's manager of entertainment marketing. Reider's
job includes working with two Los Angeles agencies that place Miller's products
in movies and television shows. Agency employees read movie scripts, searching
for chances to place Miller's products, along with products from other
clients.
"If there are beer scenes, they make sure they are appropriate," Reider said.
For Miller, that means no underage drinking, drinking and driving, or
"gratuitous violence," he said.
"We want to be part of the lifestyle of the American scene," Reider added.
Companies pay big bucks to place their products prominently in films. Sometimes
those deals are explicit, like one that resulted in the 1996 movie "Jerry
Maguire" adding nearly a minute of additional footage featuring Reebok after
the shoe manufacturer sued over an alleged breach of contract on a placement
deal.
Gratuitous placement happens
Miller usually does not pay a fee, Reider said. The beer is provided without
charge, with the benefit being the label's exposure to millions of consumers -
if only for a fleeting moment.
That's not to say products made by Miller and others don't end up in movies
without placement deals. Sometimes, small independent filmmakers will simply
buy something and use it in a scene.
And sometimes products show up without authorization, such as in pornographic
videos. Harley-Davidson Inc. made headlines in 1997 when it sued the producer
of a sexually explicit video that used the Milwaukee company's motorcycles as
props.
Most mainstream film studios, however, work with companies on product
placement. For filmmakers, product placement allows them to obtain props at no
charge. "They want access to our trademarks to authenticate their scenes,"
Reider said.
That can save the studio a lot of money when it comes to big-ticket objects,
like cars and personal computers. While beer isn't expensive, the brew used in
movies is often not your average six-pack.
Sometimes, the label disguises the fact that actors actually are swilling
water. Or a bottle with a High Life label may contain Sharp's, Miller's
non-alcohol beer, Reider said. That's done because a scene could require
several takes to film - and directors don't want their actors to get drunk in
the process.
Also, the can and bottle labels have to reflect the period in which the movie
takes place. For "Pearl Harbor," Miller had to reproduce High Life labels from
1941.
Miller has been used in several Bruckheimer films, including last year's
"Coyote Ugly." Journal Sentinel movie critic Duane Dudek once described
Bruckheimer as "the unchallenged master of the sleekly mounted, fidgety,
testosterone-driven, big-budget action film."
Driven by testosterone
Often, that's where Miller is looking to place its products. Reider said the
company prefers to be in "male-oriented films" - not a surprise considering
that 85% of U.S. beer sales are to men, according to industry figures.
Among the films that featured Miller products in the past year: "Space
Cowboys," an action movie about geriatric astronauts, featuring Clint Eastwood
drinking Miller Lite; "Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles," a comedy featuring the
title character, played by Paul Hogan, drinking Foster's, an Australian beer
that Miller holds the U.S. license for; and "Price of Glory," a boxing flick
starring Jimmy Smits that featured a boxing finale with the Lite logo
emblazoned on the ring.
Of the top 100 box office drawing movies released least year, 45 had beer
scenes, Reider said. Miller products, he said, were in 24 of those movies.
Miller also shows up in several television shows.
"It doesn't hurt when Tony Soprano goes to the refrigerator and picks out a
Miller Genuine Draft," Reider said, referring to the main character from "The
Sopranos," the Mafia series that runs on HBO.
Reese's Pieces hit home run
Product placements have a long history in the movie industry. The marketing
technique made a quantum leap when sales of Reese's Pieces candy soared after
their prominent use in the hugely successful 1982 film "E.T.: The
Extra-Terrestrial."
But not everyone in Tinsel Town is thrilled with the development.
Some directors complain that deals with studios force them to focus too much on
certain products, and they have occasionally drawn a critical backlash.
The 1997 James Bond flick "Tomorrow Never Dies" was slammed for its heavy focus
on product placement, including Bond on his BMW motorcycle, sipping a Smirnoff
vodka martini and making a call on his Ericsson cell phone - although not all
at the same time.
Film producer Rodney Liber told Fade In Magazine, a movie industry publication,
about shooting a scene for the 1998 film "Wild Things" in which actor Bill
Murray is drinking a Coors beer in a Mexican restaurant.
Murray asked Liber if it wouldn't be more appropriate to have his character
drinking a Mexican beer. But the deal with Coors didn't allow that, Liber
recalled.
Product placement also contains pitfalls. A company could spend lavishly to tie
its product to a movie that performs poorly at the box office and makes no
impression on consumers.
Even with a box office hit, there's some question as to how much of an
impression is made. Unless the product plays an instrumental role in a crucial
scene - like those Reese's Pieces used to lure E.T. out of the woods - it might
go unnoticed by viewers, said Gary Hemphill, vice president of New York-based
Beverage Marketing Corp.
Left on the cutting room floor
Then there's the risk that the product won't make it into the final cut, Reider
said.
With "Pearl Harbor," Miller was asked to provide both High Life and Hamm's, a
lesser-known brand, for three different scenes. But company executives had no
way of knowing whether their products would ultimately be seen by moviegoers.
"You never know what goes on in the editing process," Reider said.
The payoff for Miller comes during the bar scene, where at least one High Life
bottle is seen for several seconds.
But for most vivid product placement, the Oscar goes to the scene at a military
hospital packed with wounded sailors following the Japanese attack. Two of the
film's main characters are donating blood, and the short-handed, overwhelmed
hospital uses Depression-era Coca-Cola bottles as receptacles.
http://news.com.au:80/common/story_page/0,4057,2050871%255E462,00.html
Lion Nathan pulls a profit
By HELEN MATTERSON 29may01
BREWER Lion Nathan announced a rise in its half-year result yesterday, achieved
through increasing beer prices and not losing those gains in discounting wars.
The Sydney-based maker of Tooheys and Hahn beer revealed a 16 per cent rise to
$89 million in its net profit for the six months to the end of March.
Lion Nathan chief executive Gordon Cairns said beer price increases of around 7
per cent, caused by inflation and a rise in beer excise, had a significant
impact on the result. And 75 per cent of those gains were retained while 25 per
cent were lost due to competition.
The market welcomed the outcome, sending the stock 9c higher in early trade. It
closed up 7c at $4.08. Analysts noted the result wasn't marred by heavy
discounting in the Victorian market where Lion Nathan has invested heavily to
try and break the stronghold of Foster's Brewing Group.
UBS Warburg beverages analyst Bill Pridham said a rise in overall volumes of
3.5 per cent and net revenue per litre up 7.3 per cent had driven revenue
growth.
However, Lion admitted the purchase of 45 hotels in Victoria, costing $73
million, had not gone as well as planned.
Mr Cairns said it had taken longer to learn what was a new craft, while the
economic recession and GST had not helped. He said less profitable hotels might
be sold and replaced with better performers.
The company's result benefited from reduced losses from its poor performing
Chinese operation. Losses were trimmed to $12.9 million from the previous half
year's loss of $15.7 million. Just over half the improvement was due to better
performance, coupled with improved economic conditions in China and competitors
leaving the market. A writedown of $120 million last year made up for 47 per
cent of the improvement.
Sale of the operation is an option but Mr Cairns maintained there was an "open
mind" on this and discussions were being held with three parties over forming a
local partnership.
EBIT for Australian brewing rose 11.7 per cent to $170.4 million in a beer
market which declined 0.2 per cent, with local tap beer sales off 3.1 per cent
(due to the rise in excise) costing Lion $10 million in earnings. Further cost
pressures, including the low $A, cost another $10 million.
The company expects these conditions to continue in the second half with a full
year net result forecast around $140 million.
http://dailynews.philly.com:80/content/daily_news/2001/05/23/features/STUF
F23F.htm
Gimme brew with that sauce
"I've always believed that great barbecue and great beer belong together." So
sez Seattle chef Tom Douglas, whose newest barbecue sauces are brewed with. .
.yup. . .real suds, from Redhook Brewery. There's Redhook Blackhook Barbecue
Sauce with Poblano Chilies and Molasses made with Blackhook Porter; Redhook ESB
Barbecue Sauce with Smoked Chilies and Honey; and Redhook Spicy Blond Barbecue
Sauce with Jalapeno and Mango, made with Redhook's Blond Ale.
x
Fruit juice marinades
From Lawry's comes 12 new marinades made from "real fruit juice." ("Real" is
such a comforting adjective these days.) Look for Caribbean Jerk with Papaya
Juice, Lemon Pepper with Lemon Juice, Tequila Lime with Lime Juice,
Mediterranean with Lemon Juice, Mesquite with Lime Juice, Teriyaki with
Pineapple Juice, New Sesame Ginger with Mandarin Orange Juice, Thai Ginger with
Lime Juice, Hawaiian with Tropical Fruit Juice, Citrus Grill with Orange Juice,
Dijon & Honey with Lemon Juice, and Herb & Garlic with Lemon Juice.
http://www.bergen.com:80/bcent/spirit200105235.htm
Success flows from liquor imports
Wednesday, May 23, 2001 By ALLISON PRIES Staff Writer
When a 28-year-old French immigrant introduced Texans to crepes and souffle in
1968, they weren't exactly lining up to get a seat in his dining room.
"The work was too much . . . trying to convert Texans to French food," said
former Dallas and Corpus Christi restaurant owner Michel Roux. "It was a fight
every day."
But those two years he spent on the restaurant landed him in the importing
business, where he has enjoyed nearly 30 years marketing spirits.
Today, the jovial Floridian -- who through a thick French accent says he spoke
better English when he moved to Texas in 1964 -- has become a successful
marketer, spirit maker, philanthropist, and entrepreneur.
Through a friend of his restaurant's beverage distributor, Roux became the
first salesman for Carillon Importers, which was based in Fort Lee until its
principals disbanded in 1998. Roux was promoted to president after 11 years and
stayed with Carillon for 28 years. "It became a very successful company with
almost a $400 million turnover," he said.
But Roux longed to be in business for himself, "not having the corporation
taking every penny," he said.
"I was like a maverick. I was very successful but at the same time I only had a
few years to go [before retirement]. I thought I should do something for
myself."
Starting from scratch in 1999, Roux established Paramus-based Crillon
Importers, which sends around 30 spirits and a few wines from Mexico, Haiti,
Sweden, Netherlands, and France to distributors throughout North America. The
company's net profit last year was $800,000, from $6.5 million in total
revenue, he said. Crillon employs 22 people at offices in Paramus, Chicago, and
Palm Coast, Fla.
"I'm not here to make money for myself," he said. "You cannot drive three cars
or sleep in 15 beds."
Crillon is one of several importers that competes for the $54 billion wine and
spirits market in the United States, according to Impact Databank, a
Manhattan-based research firm that specializes in wine, spirits, and beer.
Roux said many of the 50 to 60 large importers prior to the mid-1970s have
collapsed or merged, narrowing the landscape to about a dozen large companies
today.
Taxes make up more than half the price consumers are charged for most liquor.
Tax revenues from the distilled spirits industry account for more than $7.5
billion per year. Federal, state, and local governments combined make 14 times
more in tax revenue from liquor than the distillers make in profits, according
to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, a national trade
organization for producers and marketers of distilled spirits.
After sliding off in 1991 and fluctuating through the mid-1990s, sales of
spirits have increased for five consecutive years, said Lisa Hawkins, a
spokeswoman for the distillers' trade group. Recently, consumers tend to favor
premium and superpremium spirits, the more expensive products, Hawkins said.
High-end tequila and niche bourbons have been particularly well received. It's
not uncommom to go into a restaurant and see 40 types of tequila on the menu,
Hawkins said.
Continued growth is expected for the industry as 3 million children of baby
boomers reach the legal drinking age each year for the next decade, according
to Impact's annual studies. The upswing will sustain a soft economy, it says,
despite the market bottoming out in 1995.
New Jersey has franchising laws binding spirits exclusively to their
distributor. "If an importer has a brand, it's there forever," Roux said.
"except if the distributor wants to give it up. In New York there are no
strings attached to distribution. They can change the next day."
While he was with Carillon Importers in the late 1970s, Roux was responsible
for bringing Absolut Vodka to the U.S. market from Sweden. At that point about
100,000 cases were shipped annually and "most people didn't know where Sweden
was," he said.
Although he no longer imports Absolut Vodka, shipments today are around 7
million cases worldwide, with more than half, 4.5 million, destined for the
United States, according to the Absolut Web site.
Roux pitched Absolut Vodka as a clean drink that would make people feel good
but, as he learned in the restaurant business, "it has to be the right thing
for the right time," he said.
He reached people by using a fashionable campaign laced with new music,
choreography and art. "We were avant garde," he said. Ad campaigns for Absolut,
using catchy two-word slogans below works commissioned by unknown artists,
quickly became a part of pop culture.
President of the Absolut Company, Goran Lundqvist, credits Roux's "creativity
and unorthodox ways in creating a customer relationship" with opening the U.S.
market. Absolut is the third most popular liquor brand worldwide, according to
Impact.
September, Roux again partnered with the makers of Absolut (Vin & Spirit AB)
for the launch of a new product, OP, an alternative to vodka. "Vodka has
reached its plateau," he said, adding that it is why he's not importing it
anymore.
Trends in the industry follow products that make a statement. "By ordering
them, people are stating part of their personality. When they're tired of the
taste, they move on to another label," he said.
For example, scotch was very sophisticated 20 years ago, and then people's
tastes changed, he said.
"A product can be a failure in 1970 because it's before its time and succeed in
the year 2000," he said. "A lot of it is timing. Take the same product and "put
it into a different perspective" he said, and people might drink it.
Still, spirits have a limited window of glory and the recent trend of
ready-mixed beverages is capitalizing on that idea. Many of those drinks are
targeted at young people, Roux said.
They're "a lot of the same model in a different dress," he said. "In the short
term, they will be very profitable for the company." As for now? "Today it's
raspberry, and tommorrow it will be strawberry."
http://news.excite.com/news/r/010525/08/odd-newborns-dc
Silicon Valley Newborns to Get Immediate Email
May 25 REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (Reuters) - First you get spanked, then you get
spammed.
Under a new program being sponsored by a Silicon Valley hospital, northern
California newborns will get an e-mail address within minutes of being born,
officials said on Thursday.
Sequoia Hospital has teamed up with Namezero.com Inc. to offer "tech-savvy"
parents the option of launching their infants online long before they take
their first steps, giving them e-mail and a personalized domain name shortly
after they take their first gulps of air.
The service will provide "access to free email and URL forwarding, as well as
online tips and resources for child care and parenting," Nemezero said in a
statement.
"As our society's communications structure becomes increasingly centered around
the Internet, the domain name is becoming an important form of identity, much
like a social security number," Namezero President Bruce Keiser said.
"By registering a child's name at birth, parents are ensuring that the child
will have it throughout their lifetime."
Linda Kresge, chief nurse executive at Sequoia, said the service make the
Silicon Valley hospital the first in the country to offer free Internet domains
and e-mail addresses for babies. "It's a fun way to welcome new babies to the
21st century and get them connected right away," Kresge said.
J2jurado
UK Trade Secretary Aims for Early Interbrew Ruling
David Altaner
London, May 29 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. Trade and Industry Secretary Stephen Byers
indicated he's hoping to make an early decision on Interbrew SA's sale of Bass
Plc's brewing business.
``It is in no one's interests to delay this matter,'' Byers told Bloomberg
Television. ``I'll certainly want to make as speedy progress as we can,
compatible with our own legal requirements, to get this matter resolved:
hopefully, to everyone's satisfaction.''
Last week, the High Court ordered the government to review the decision
ordering Interbrew to sell the Bass unit it bought for $3.3 billion last year.
The court said regulators hadn't fully considered the Belgian company's
arguments.
Brussels-based Interbrew, the maker of Stella Artois and Labatt beer, earlier
bought Whitbread Plc's brewing business. The U.K. Competition Commission
rejected the possibility the Belgian company could sell the Whitbread business,
rather than Bass's.
``I don't think it would be appropriate for me to discuss possible remedies at
this stage,'' Byers said. ``What we need to do is, obviously, to look very
carefully at the proposals that Interbrew, as I understand it, will now be
putting forward.''
The company's shares fell 65 cents, or 2.1 percent, to 29.90 euros. They've
lost 19 percent this year.
Interbrew hopes to open talks with the U.K. authorities as soon as possible,
said Corneel Maes, a spokesman. He declined to say what the Belgian brewer will
propose.
``We're still on the timing of wishing to close the deal by the end of the
year,'' he said. ``We would like to sit with the secretary as soon as we can.
There's no appointments as yet.''
Brau und Brunnen Names Wolfgang Speth Head of Distribution
Catherine McLean
Dortmund, Germany, May 29 (Bloomebrg) -- Brau und Brunnen AG, Germany's No. 3
brewer, named Wolfgang Speth head of distribution /key account as it rebuilds
management after a failed merger.
Speth, 35, was previously head of key-account management at Moenchengladbach,
Germany-based Hannen Brauerei GmbH, the maker of Jever beer said in a faxed
statement. He will take start June 1.
The company has appointed a new marketing chief at Jever and a new chief
executive after their predecessors left in discord over strategy. It's
overhauling its business following the failure of its merger with Bayerische
BrauHolding AG last year.
Maris Kin Blasts Offer for Beer Co.
By RON WORD
May 29, 2001 GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) - A nephew of Roger Maris testified Tuesday
that a $21 million offer from Anheuser-Busch for the family's beer
distributorship was ``just ridiculous.''
Bart Maris, a lawyer and an administrator for Maris Distributing Co., is the
sixth witness in the family's $1.2 billion lawsuit against the St. Louis
brewery.
Roger Maris received the distributorship for the Gainesville and Ocala areas
after he retired from baseball in 1968. When the former home run king died in
1985, his family ran the franchise until the St. Louis company took it back
several years ago.
Bart Maris said the brewery's $21 million offer for their business was too
small.
``It was just ridiculous,'' Maris said. ``That was my reaction when I saw the
offer.''
Maris said Anheuser-Bush made a second offer of $21.5 million. He also said the
family rejected $42 million from another distributor.
Maris said his father, Rudy Maris, the president of the company, had set a $60
million asking price for the business.
Bart Maris testified last week that the distributorship made more than $21
million in profits from 1993 to 1996.
The family is seeking $1.3 billion in compensatory damages from Anheuser-Busch,
which pulled the distributorship in 1997.
Maris' relatives also contend the brewery defamed them by falsifying poor
evaluations before closing the distributorship.
The brewery's lawyers say the Marises are not entitled to the money because the
distributorship violated the terms of the agreement. Anheuser-Busch claimed
Maris repackaged outdated beer, falsified reports, had dirty warehouses and
ignored warnings.
Four weeks into the trial, the jury has heard from only six witnesses. The
trial could last more than two months.
Scottish & Newcastle Wins UK Distribution Rights From Peroni
Candace Carpenter
Edinburgh, May 29 (Bloomberg) -- Scottish & Newcastle Plc, Europe's No. 2
brewer, said its Scottish Courage unit won the hard-fought right to distribute
Birra Peroni Industriale SpA's bottled beers including Nastro Azzurro and Grand
Riserva to U.K. supermarkets and other retail shops starting in mid-June.
The agreement extends an existing relationship between the U.K. brewer and
Rome-based Peroni, which licenses and distributes Scottish & Newcastle's
Kronenbourg and other brands in Italy. A network of independent British
operators currently holds the retail distribution rights, a company spokesman
said.
``Gran Riserva and Nastro Azzurro are a welcome addition,'' Robin Alexander,
managing director of Scottish Courage Brands, said in a statement. ``They aid
us in our objective of offering a beer for every consumer for every occasion.''
Scottish & Newcastle, which also makes Courage and John Smith's ale, has said
it's looking for buyers for about 740 of its 2,373 managed pubs to focus on
becoming one of the biggest brewers. The company paid 1.7 billion pounds for
Groupe Danone SA's Kronenbourg last July and plans further European takeovers.
Shares of Scottish & Newcastle rose as much as 8.5 pence, or 1.7 percent, to
520p. The stock has declined 7.8 percent in the past 12 months.
Peroni, Italy's No. 2 brewer with more than a 26 percent share of the market,
said it will support the spread of Nastro Azzurro with a 1 million-pound ($1.4
million) advertising campaign targeting London and Edinburgh running from May
to the pre-Christmas period.
``The U.K. is a very important market for us, and one we are keen to grow our
craft beer market,'' Franco Peroni, export director at Peroni, said in the
statement.
North American Guild of Beer Writers Seeks Entries for Quill & Tankard Awards
DURHAM, N.C., May 29 /PRNewswire/ -- The North American Guild of Beer Writers
(NAGBW) is currently accepting entries for the Quill & Tankard Awards
competition, which is held annually to recognize excellence in writing about
beer. The Quill & Tankard Awards competition is open to all writers, including
non-members. Applications for this year's competition must be postmarked by
June 16, 2001, and awards will be presented in September at the NAGBW's annual
general meeting at the Great American Beer Festival(R) in Denver.
Entries for this year's competition must have been published between June 1,
2000 and May 31, 2001. Gold, silver and bronze awards will be awarded in the
following categories: Book, Column, Editorial, Business/Trade, General
Articles, Brewing Feature, Brewery Profile, Food, History, Humor/Fiction, Beer
Styles, Travel, Interview/Profile, Culture, and News. The entries will be
evaluated by members of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication,
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, who will also select a Beer Writer of
the Year.
Application forms and information on the awards competition can be obtained by
contacting the NAGBW's Administrator at 919-530-8150 or on the NAGBW's website
at http://www.beerwriters.org.
The North American Guild of Beer Writers was founded in 1994 to encourage
writing in all forms of media that is informed, accurate and fair-minded on the
subject of beer, brewing, beer styles, history, education, travel, cooking with
beer, and beer appreciation. Contact: Natalie Abernethy, NAGBW 919-530-8150
Poland's Okocim sees net profit in 2001
WARSAW, May 29 (Reuters) - Poland's third biggest beer maker Okocim, whose
strategic shareholder is Denmark's Carlsberg, said on Tuesday it expects to
make a profit in 2001 after reporting a 29.5 million zloty ($7.3 million) group
loss last year.
"We hope to show a net profit this year thanks to increasing our production and
market share while keeping a tight cost policy," said Okocim CEO Marcin Pirog.
Okocim plans to control some seven percent of market share this year against
around five percent in 2000.
Carlsberg Breweries which earlier this month called a public bid for all the
shares it does not own in the Polish firm, pledged to invest 80 million zlotys
in the brewer this year to improve its production technology and capacity.
Shares in Okocim, which surged to an eight-months high on Carlsberg's bid,
stabilised recently at around 16.25 zlotys.
On Tuesday the stock traded up 0.3 percent at 16 zlotys per share. ($1-4.037
Zloty)
Irish students' boozing causing high dropout rate
DUBLIN, May 29 (Reuters) - Excessive drinking in Irish universities is a major
contributor to an alarming dropout rate at some campuses, education officials
said.
Higher Education Authority chairman Don Thornhill told a conference that data
collected on some campuses indicated students were spending a significant
proportion of their time and money on alcohol and betting, newspapers reported
on Tuesday.
World Health Organisation figures showed that Irish consumption of beer, the
preferred drink of young men, was 142.5 litres (38 gallons) per year, or almost
twice the European Union average.
Some campuses are losing almost a third of their students, education officials
said. But the overall dropout rate in Ireland is in line with international
trends.
Colm Jordan, a representative of the Union of Students of Ireland, warned
against "scapegoating" students and said per capita consumption of alcohol was
higher at the bar in the Irish parliament than in student pubs.
Ausbil's Xiradis on Australian Brewing Companies: Stock Comment
Emily Parkinson
Sydney, May 29 (Bloomberg) -- Paul Xiradis, Director of Equities at Ausbil
Dexia Ltd., comments on Australian brewing stocks Lion Nathan Ltd. and Foster's
Brewing Group Ltd.:
On Lion Nathan, after the company yesterday said first-half profit rose a
higher-than-expected 16 percent:
``They produced a very credible result and it is reflected in the share price
at the moment.
``There are two unknowns at the moment regarding Lion Nathan. One is how soon
can they get rid of their loss-making operation in China, and secondly, what
are their rollout plans as far as wine is concerned? They are looking for an
acquisition but there isn't much available at the price they will pay.
(Lion Nathan) is looking here in Australia but there aren't too many good
quality operations around that are reasonably priced. You would have to pay a
full price . so that creates a bit of uncertainty.''
On Foster's Brewing Group Limited after shareholder's yesterday voted to
change the company name to Foster's Brewing Ltd. effective from July 2,
dropping the word `Brewing' to reflect the growing importance of the company's
wine division. Foster's last year added the California-based Beringer Wine
Estates to its Mildara Blass unit:
``Foster's were aggressive with wine earlier and it's paying off in earnings
and also from a valuation perspective.
``From a valuation perspective the valuation hurdles have increased for good
wine operations and Foster's have actually got in early and are making it
work.''
On possible acquisitions for Foster's:
``Heineken have been dealing with Foster's for some time so they wouldn't
necessarily be aggressive. Potentially, there is a bit of smoke there and there
are others that have been earmarked too as likely bidders. There is a U.K.
based wine group that would look at Foster's closely as well.
``Clearly their wine assets are valuable I wouldn't be surprised if there is a
bit of demand for that sort of operation.''
Duke Scientists Make Nicotine Liquid That May Help Smokers Quit
Kristin Reed
Washington, May 29 (Bloomberg)-- Scientists from Duke University have created
an experimental nicotine liquid that smokers might one day use to cut cigarette
cravings by spiking their favorite beverage.
The researchers said an initial study of 25 volunteers suggests the liquid
nicotine-replacement treatment has promise as a quit-smoking tool. They are
seeking a pharmaceutical company to help pay for the large trials needed to
bring the drug to market.
``There are 435,000 deaths per year in the United States from cigarette
smoking,'' said Eric Westman, director of the Smoking Cessation Laboratory at
Duke University Medical Center and the leader of the study, which was funded by
the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. ``Obviously we must continue to
research various methods of smoking cessation to provide as much assistance as
we can to help people quit.''
Currently, companies including Pharmacia Corp., and GlaxoSmithKline Plc sell
quit-smoking aids that range from patches and chewing gums to inhalers and
prescription pills. For many smokers, though, existing options don't work very
well, carry too many side effects, or just plain don't taste good, Westman
said.
``We are trying to find a product that addresses all these limitations,''
Westman said. ``If you like coffee, you can put it in your coffee -- if you
like tea, you can put it in your tea. Same for beer.''
Volunteers in the study, all smokers, were given eyedropper vials of the
nicotine-based fluid and told to add it to a favorite drink, such as coffee,
beer, or soda, as often as they liked. Participants consumed between 2.4
milligrams of the fluid, and 10 milligrams -- which is roughly one-third of an
ounce, and the nicotine equivalent of three cigarettes -- per drink.
Beverages appear to mask the ``ashtray'' flavor of the clear nicotine fluid.
About 24 percent of volunteers had quit smoking three months into the study and
20 percent were smoke-free after six months. That's comparable to rates that
are seen with existing treatments such as the nicotine patch, Westman said.
For the past decade, Westman and his colleague Jed Rose -- who invented the
nicotine patch in the early 1980's -- have been working to find new options to
help smokers kick the habit. The beverage based approach has a few advantages,
he said.
``It involves a hand-to-mouth action, similar to that of smoking,'' Westman
said. ``Also, the nicotine is metabolized fairly rapidly, providing a quicker
nicotine boost than is provided by a nicotine patch . . . we think it is a
promising avenue for research.''
Target Marketing & Promotions Kicks Off Summer Tour for Malibu Coconut Flavored
Rum
Animated Malibu Loves Fruit Tour to Increase Drink Volume and Expand Brand
Awareness for GuinnessUDV's Malibu Coconut Flavored Rum
BOSTON, May 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Target Marketing & Promotions (TMP), a provider
of innovative promotional solutions, today launched its second annual Malibu
Loves Fruit Tour for GuinnessUDV. The 10-week interactive West Coast
promotional tour is an expanded version of last year's Malibu Loves Fruit tour,
targeting women ages 21-29. On Premise Solutions (OPS), TMP's wholly owned
subsidiary, is responsible for all hands-on on premise execution of the tour.
The Malibu Loves Fruit tour brings Malibu Coconut Flavored Rum's mixability
message to life through a cast of fruity characters, which includes Mr. Malibu,
Cranberry Sue, Pineapple Paula and Orange Olivia. New to the tour this year is
a Fruit Loves Malibu program component targeting gay males ages 21-36 to expand
the presence of Malibu Coconut Flavored Rum within an additional demographic.
"We're looking forward to the second consecutive Malibu Loves Fruit tour," said
Michael Currie, Brand Manager, Rums Portfolio for UDV West. "TMP did a great
job with last year's tour and we're thrilled to see this become an annual
event. We're really excited to test out this year's Fruit Loves Malibu
component as a fun, tongue-in-cheek way to engage a new audience."
The Malibu Loves Fruit tour this year adds Portland, Oregon and Seattle,
Washington in its list of 10 West Coast destination cities. Armed with
activities and music and traveling through the West Coast in a funky branded
convertible, Mr. Malibu and the costumed fruits will create a show stopping
party wherever they appear, from San Francisco to San Diego and Phoenix to Las
Vegas.
As part of the tour plan, TMP negotiated partnerships with local radio stations
to attract consumers of legal drinking age to the Malibu Loves Fruit tour
appearances, where consumers can compete for the opportunity to be a fruit for
the night and for assorted items including glitter sunscreen, baby doll
t-shirts, and bucket hats. Consumers can also have their photos taken with Mr.
Malibu.
About GuinnessUDV
GuinnessUDV North America, Inc., a subsidiary of Diageo PLC, London (NYSE: <A
HREF="aol://4785:DEO">DEO</A>) -- the world's largest and most profitable
spirits and wine company -- produces, imports and markets a wide range of
premium brands in addition to Malibu Coconut Flavored Rum including such brands
as Smirnoff Vodka, Jose Cuervo Tequila, Bailey's Original Irish Cream Liqueur,
T.G.I. Friday's Ready-to-Drink Cocktails, Beaulieu Vineyard wines and Glen
Ellen wines.
About Target Marketing & Promotions
Target Marketing & Promotions (TMP), Boston, is a provider of innovative
promotional solutions to a roster of national and regional clients including
Hasbro, New Balance and Dr Pepper/7UP; and Cuervo and Malibu Coconut Flavored
Rum for GuinnessUDV. TMP works with brands to drive their sales and equity by
first creating the "big idea" and then developing and implementing concepts
through warp core energization of co-branding/partnering, radio merchandising,
account specific and trade marketing, incentives and other strategic and
galactic relationships. On Premise Solutions (OPS), a wholly owned subsidiary
of TMP, specializes in on and off premise multi-dimensional and on-site
promotions, guerilla/local market events, mobile marketing and field war teams.
For more information about TMP, visit www.tmpboston.com.
The Court of Master Sommeliers, American Chapter Launches Website
NAPA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 29, 2001--The website, mastersommeliers.org,
was launched today by the Court of Master Sommeliers, American Chapter.
Consistent with the Court's effort and dedication to improve standards of
beverage knowledge of the Superior Beverage and its service in hotels and
restaurants, the website contains educational information, a central hub with
industry related information, and an area designated for the Master Sommeliers
to communicate upcoming trends and related legislation.
The Court is making a concerted effort to respond to the needs of the
hospitality industry on its website, mastersommeliers.org, by featuring a job
posting area/bulletin board. This area serves sommeliers looking for a position
and those industry employers looking to hire a sommelier or wine director.
"It has always been our intention is to provide hospitality professionals with
well rounded beverage expertise so that they can move up in the on-premise
sector," says Evan Goldstein, Chairman of the Court of Master Sommeliers.
"Because of our internationally accepted credentials and recognized standards
in the service industry many organizations come looking to us for help in
identifying individuals to meet their staffing needs. Now, through
mastersommeliers.org we have connected the door to both worlds, the employer
and employee."
Along with the posting area, information on the Court of Master Sommelier's
three-tiered educational program, study materials, scholarships and a listing
of Court members will be available on mastersommeliers.org. Candidates will
also be able to register online for the Master Sommelier Introductory course;
the first tier of intensive instruction on product knowledge, beverage service
and blind tasting and testing conducted by the Court of Master Sommeliers. Due
to the application process of the second level Advanced Course and the Masters
Exam, enrollment for these courses will continue to be handled only through the
Court's administrative office.
To learn more about the Court of Master Sommeliers, please visit our new
website at: www.mastersommeliers.org
The Peter Mondavi Family Hosts 50th Anniversary of Annual ``Tastings On the
Lawn'' At Charles Krug Winery
ST. HELENA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 29, 2001--The Peter Mondavi Family
today announced dates for its 50th annual "Tastings on the Lawn" series at
Charles Krug, Napa Valley's first winery (http://www.charleskrug.com).
Charles Krug Napa Valley and Family Reserve wines, fresh foods from local
purveyors, and live, steel drum-based reggae music will be enjoyed on July 22,
August 19 and September 16, 2001. All "Tastings on the Lawn" events are on
Sunday afternoons, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
A Napa Valley tradition since 1951, "Tastings on the Lawn" invites wine lovers
to relax under the ancient oak trees shading the winery's Carriage House lawn.
Tastings feature eight Charles Krug Napa Valley and Family Reserve Wines --
including the traditional pouring of an unreleased mystery wine -- paired with
fresh hors d'oeuvres prepared by local farmers and food purveyors. The steel
drum-based reggae sounds of Steel Jam round out a perfect summer afternoon in
the heart of wine country.
Tickets can be purchased in advance for $12 by calling (888) ASK-KRUG
(1-888-275-5784) or by email: tastings...@pmondavi.com. Advance
reservations are recommended, and all pre-purchased tickets are held at "will
call" the day of the event. Tickets may also be purchased at the door for $15.
Charles Krug Winery was founded in 1861, Napa Valley's first winery. Peter
Mondavi's family purchased the estate in 1943. Today the third generation cares
for over 800 acres of Napa Valley vineyards. The family's continued innovations
and investments in the vineyard and cellar are envisioned to produce the finest
examples of wines from America's foremost winegrowing region. "The outstanding
1997 Merlot Reserve (100% Merlot from a Carneros vineyard) is the finest
Charles Krug effort I have tasted since some of their single lot Cabernet
Sauvignons from the 1974 vintage," Robert M. Parker Jr., The Wine Advocate,
January 2000.
New York City Recommends Leaving Generous Tips, Paper Reports
Russell Hubbard (N.Y. Daily News 5-29 3)
New York, May 29 (Bloomberg) -- New York's Department of Consumer Affairs is
urging diners to leave healthy tips -- even to counter workers at fast-food
restaurants, the New York Daily News reported.
The agency published a sheet advising people on how much to tip for various
services, the paper said. Among the advice is to tip fast-food workers a dollar
or two at the end of the week if a particular server gives special attention.
McDonald's Corp. customers who spoke to the paper laughed at the advice. ``I
don't see much service at McDonald's for me to tip them bums,'' said Arsene
Rouzard of Trenton, New Jersey, who was waiting in line at a McDonald's in
Herald Square.
For sit-down restaurants, the city recommends tipping as much as 25 percent,
or 5 percent more than advised by travel guides such as the Zagat Survey.
Publisher Tim Zagat was baffled by the recommendation, the paper said.