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Brandhouse, which markets and distributes Amstel, Heineken and Windhoek premium beers, says SAB is trying to persuade taverners to sell Amstel at more than R10 for the 660ml returnable bottle. If someone tries to charge you more, says brandhouse, "ask why".
Other premium beers sell in bars for R12 to R15, while regular beers like Carling Black Label and Castle go for about R9.50 for the 750ml bottle.
"Amstel managed to keep the price low by making the bottle returnable, so that consumers are only paying for the beer, and not the glass, if they return the empty bottle," the company says in a statement. "The 660ml returnable bottle is the national standard size for premium beer, and is similar in size to other premium beer brands in South Africa.
"We believe that our premium beer, Amstel Lager, in the sharing pack should be available to every beer fan at a reasonable price – and we recommend that to be R10, excluding the returnable deposit," says brandhouse MD Gerald Mahinda.
"This price offers our trade partners a great deal. If tavern owners choose to sell our Amstel sharing pack at the recommended price, they should be making more margin than on a sharing bottle of mainstream beer. We believe that with this attractive price point for a premium beer our trade partners should find that many more consumers will want to buy Amstel.
"More sales in comparison to mainstream should mean more money in their pockets."
Thanks to aggressive marketing concentrated on the premium beer sector brandhouse, SA Breweries' market share has fallen to 87.7% (last year), its lowest in decades. For many years it stood at about 96%, but its latest monthly figure puts it at 86.5%.
Current marketshare for Brandhouse products are: Amstel 6.1%, Heineken 2.8%, Windhoek 3.0%. Biggest seller overall is Carling Black Label (35.4%), followed by Hansa (23.7%) and Castle (15.9%) – all products of SAB.
Amstel was brewed under licence by SAB until the licence was given to Brandhouse, a joint venture formed in 2004 between Diageo, Heineken International and Namibia Breweries.
- Fin24.com
