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A-B vs. Miller: The Import Wars
The war for global supremacy amongst the beer giants is often fought on U.S. soil. Acquisitions, joint ventures and distribution rights are the weaponry for this war. It seems as A-B has had issues adding brands to their U.S. distributors (with the exception of Monster), Miller has been much more successful. Recently Miller has added four new international brews to their line-up, gaining steam in the race to bring imported beers to American consumers. This week Miller announced the additions of Aguila, Cristal, Cusquena and Tyskie.
Recently, the trend amongst U.S. beer consumers is “go for something different.” We’ve already discussed the rise in sales of craft beer, as well as the growth of niche beer markets like organic beer. Throw unique imports into that mix - the market for international brews has shown steady growth over the last few quarters as well (losing the Modelo joint venture was a major blow to A-B).
Following that trend Miller has announced the addition of four new imports to it’s American portfolio. Aguila from Columbia, Cristal and Cusquena from Peru and Tyskie from Poland. Aguila, Cristal and Cusquena will all be avaibled through Miller beginning in January ‘07. Tyskie is currently available in Chicago, but will get coast to coast distribution in January as well. The additions further strengthen Miller’s lineup of imports that already includes Pilsner Urquell and Peroni Nasto Azzurro.
While the addition of these imports seems a little excessive, it may be a smart move for Miller. A-B’s Budweiser and Bud Light have been the best selling beers in the U.S. and abroad for years. Miller has been gaining on the giant with their aggressive advertising, however by adding more imports into American markets Miller has the opportunity to score big returns on the import boom. Man law? Man law!
