Very odd.
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He needs to stop being a baby and get over the fact that InBev took over AB during his tenure.
- 3,796
Just thought of something, but I'm sure it has been discussed at some point.
Did anyone notice the totally scaled back Christmas display at the AB Brewery this year. It was nothing compared to the old days. The main gates and sign were not even lit. Wouldn't expect anything less from ABINBEV. ALSO, I was driving in to town from Illinois a couple of weeks ago and noticed the giant Budweiser sign on the bottling plant was either out or off. I wonder if it was off to save energy/money, went out from lack of maintenance or if it was just a random outage. Again, who knows with ABI.
One other thing. This poster 'hiphiphooray' posted one time on this forum then disappeared. This person claimed to work at AB and talked about how much better it is now that the new regime had taken over. He/she painted a much better picture than most current/former employees have. I wonder if this person is an AB PR person. Just seems odd that you'd come on this forum to tout AB one time, then disappear and never post again. Maybe this person is legit, but you never know if ABI has PR types out there surfing the blogosphere.
POST:
"I work there. I think I have a pretty objective view of the company. I've been there almost 10 years, but not as long as some people who were fully ingrained in the old culture.
Here's the thing that people don't want to admit, except for in personal conversations - the old company, while everyone talks about how amazing it was, was throwing money away. Look at the share price. Stagnant for years, even though the company was holding share in a down economy. We spent money on anything and everything, and often without very good reason or strategy.
The new company - it's a different culture. It's not for everyone, but that doesn't make it evil. It's just not a match for everyone. You will find that at every company.
The MANCOM (Luiz, Dave & the other VPs)...sit at one long zig-zag cafeteria style table with just a laptop each. It's in the middle of the 9th floor and any Joe Schmo can walk right up there and talk to any of them. Quite different from before when you had to get past armed guards to see the III. They eat lunch in the corporate cafeteria. They wear jeans. They are open and friendly. To the person that asked about Luiz Edmond - he loves St. Louis. His kids are here in school. All of the expats - they are quite happy with their lifestyles here. People make Luiz or Brito or anyone else out to be monsters. These people don't know them. Luiz takes time to get to know every person that comes before him. If you saw him on the streets, you'd never think he was running ABI in the US. Everything that the III was...he is the opposite. The III promoted a culture of fear, whether people want to admit it or not. Today, we have a culture of openness, although it comes with constant challenges to be better.
The environment in the office is laid-back, but demanding. Truth is, we are doing everything with less people. But the point is not to do more work with less. It's to be more selective about where we spend our time and money. Old A-B people are having a hard time migrating into that. We are creatures that want to do everything. But everything is not always the answer.
The company believes in rewarding performance. It's a meritocracy. If you were were someone who worked here for 20 years and got more money and promotions because of who you knew or how long you'd been in the job, and not for what you actually did - you hate meritocracy. If you're someone that likes to perform - you love it. Salary is still competitive (80-100% of market rate), and yes we pay more for benefits than we did in the past, but seriously, I paid like $5 a paycheck for benefits with the old A-B. So I think I can pay a little more. Raises are not considered the main way to achieve more money. In fact, you are never guaranteed a raise, and if you get one, it is usually small. The main kicker is the bonus. If achieved (and we achieved them last year as a company), the payout is BIG. Much bigger than with the old company. However, as a company, we have to perform to get the bonus. If the company does not achieve its targets for the year, NO ONE gets a bonus...even Luiz.
The company is not going to move to NYC. Be realistic people, someone mentioned it before - the capital costs to move the HQ to one of the most expensive cities in the country, plus re-hire 90% of your workforce that isn't going to move? It's not realistic. There is no ROI on something like that.
I'm happy at A-B. I know a lot of people that are happy at the new A-B. You don't hear a lot from those people - mostly just hear from the complainers. But I have more opportunity to grow my career now than I ever had before. Before I had to sit around and wait for someone to die or retire before a promotion became available. Now I control my career.
Did anyone notice the totally scaled back Christmas display at the AB Brewery this year. It was nothing compared to the old days. The main gates and sign were not even lit. Wouldn't expect anything less from ABINBEV. ALSO, I was driving in to town from Illinois a couple of weeks ago and noticed the giant Budweiser sign on the bottling plant was either out or off. I wonder if it was off to save energy/money, went out from lack of maintenance or if it was just a random outage. Again, who knows with ABI.
One other thing. This poster 'hiphiphooray' posted one time on this forum then disappeared. This person claimed to work at AB and talked about how much better it is now that the new regime had taken over. He/she painted a much better picture than most current/former employees have. I wonder if this person is an AB PR person. Just seems odd that you'd come on this forum to tout AB one time, then disappear and never post again. Maybe this person is legit, but you never know if ABI has PR types out there surfing the blogosphere.
POST:
"I work there. I think I have a pretty objective view of the company. I've been there almost 10 years, but not as long as some people who were fully ingrained in the old culture.
Here's the thing that people don't want to admit, except for in personal conversations - the old company, while everyone talks about how amazing it was, was throwing money away. Look at the share price. Stagnant for years, even though the company was holding share in a down economy. We spent money on anything and everything, and often without very good reason or strategy.
The new company - it's a different culture. It's not for everyone, but that doesn't make it evil. It's just not a match for everyone. You will find that at every company.
The MANCOM (Luiz, Dave & the other VPs)...sit at one long zig-zag cafeteria style table with just a laptop each. It's in the middle of the 9th floor and any Joe Schmo can walk right up there and talk to any of them. Quite different from before when you had to get past armed guards to see the III. They eat lunch in the corporate cafeteria. They wear jeans. They are open and friendly. To the person that asked about Luiz Edmond - he loves St. Louis. His kids are here in school. All of the expats - they are quite happy with their lifestyles here. People make Luiz or Brito or anyone else out to be monsters. These people don't know them. Luiz takes time to get to know every person that comes before him. If you saw him on the streets, you'd never think he was running ABI in the US. Everything that the III was...he is the opposite. The III promoted a culture of fear, whether people want to admit it or not. Today, we have a culture of openness, although it comes with constant challenges to be better.
The environment in the office is laid-back, but demanding. Truth is, we are doing everything with less people. But the point is not to do more work with less. It's to be more selective about where we spend our time and money. Old A-B people are having a hard time migrating into that. We are creatures that want to do everything. But everything is not always the answer.
The company believes in rewarding performance. It's a meritocracy. If you were were someone who worked here for 20 years and got more money and promotions because of who you knew or how long you'd been in the job, and not for what you actually did - you hate meritocracy. If you're someone that likes to perform - you love it. Salary is still competitive (80-100% of market rate), and yes we pay more for benefits than we did in the past, but seriously, I paid like $5 a paycheck for benefits with the old A-B. So I think I can pay a little more. Raises are not considered the main way to achieve more money. In fact, you are never guaranteed a raise, and if you get one, it is usually small. The main kicker is the bonus. If achieved (and we achieved them last year as a company), the payout is BIG. Much bigger than with the old company. However, as a company, we have to perform to get the bonus. If the company does not achieve its targets for the year, NO ONE gets a bonus...even Luiz.
The company is not going to move to NYC. Be realistic people, someone mentioned it before - the capital costs to move the HQ to one of the most expensive cities in the country, plus re-hire 90% of your workforce that isn't going to move? It's not realistic. There is no ROI on something like that.
I'm happy at A-B. I know a lot of people that are happy at the new A-B. You don't hear a lot from those people - mostly just hear from the complainers. But I have more opportunity to grow my career now than I ever had before. Before I had to sit around and wait for someone to die or retire before a promotion became available. Now I control my career.
Keith Levy departs...suddenly... "to pursue other opportunities" right before the
Super Bowl..odd timing for sure.
http://www.stltoday.com/article_9bf9cad ... 78c22.html
Super Bowl..odd timing for sure.
http://www.stltoday.com/article_9bf9cad ... 78c22.html
^this could be VERY bad or VERY good for St. Louis. Where would the NA HQ be located. SABmiller has is HQ'd in Chicago I believe. Miller is in Milwaukee, ABINBEV is in NYC, INBEV in Belgium and AB in St. Louis. Something has got to give. A central location like St. Louis seems to be the best solution.. 
Although most would consider NYC, the best location for a monster company like this. Who knows if it will happen, but 80% of the beer market is the US, is a scary proposition and almost illegal.
Although most would consider NYC, the best location for a monster company like this. Who knows if it will happen, but 80% of the beer market is the US, is a scary proposition and almost illegal.- 6,775
MillerCoors is in Chicago. SABMiller is HQ'd in London.DogtownBnR wrote:^this could be VERY bad or VERY good for St. Louis. Where would the NA HQ be located. SABmiller has is HQ'd in Chicago I believe. Miller is in Milwaukee, ABINBEV is in NYC, INBEV in Belgium and AB in St. Louis. Something has got to give. A central location like St. Louis seems to be the best solution..
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^I always get that mixed up..... damn conglomerates!
A buyout, no matter what, would present some very interesting questions for INBEV.
A buyout, no matter what, would present some very interesting questions for INBEV.
- 6,775
It can be confusing. A primer for those who don't follow the industry.DogtownBnR wrote:^I always get that mixed up..... damn conglomerates!
A buyout, no matter what, would present some very interesting questions for INBEV.
MolsonCoors is HQ'd in both Montreal and Denver.
SABMiller is HQ'd in London.
ABInbev is HQ'd in Belgium (eventually NYC, but that's just a guess).
MillerCoors is a joint venture of MolsonCoors and SABMiller for the US market only. It is HQ'd in Chicago.
ABInbevSABMiller will be HQ'd in fantasy land, if you ask me. If they do merge, expect a lot of brand divestment, not only in the US, but a lot of countries. So much so, that I wonder of the merged company would even be recognizable.
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^ How about a sale of Michelob to a local group headed by the 4th. Since he is so depressed and does not know what to do with himself, this could be his new passion.
I thought I heard a rumor that he wanted Michelob as part of the deal. It must have been just that. It was never mentioned in the book by JM, nor have I heard anything about a spin-off during the buyout. Also, the 4th was paid by INBEV to lay low and be a consultant. I believe he signed a non-compete as well. I could be wrong though.
That seems standard considering he is on the board.
I thought I heard a rumor that he wanted Michelob as part of the deal. It must have been just that. It was never mentioned in the book by JM, nor have I heard anything about a spin-off during the buyout. Also, the 4th was paid by INBEV to lay low and be a consultant. I believe he signed a non-compete as well. I could be wrong though.
That seems standard considering he is on the board.
I remember someone asking about the BUDWEISER sign since it was off one night. I have seen it on since, so it may have just been off that night for some reason.
- 3,796
^I saw it out for a few nights. It may or may not be a cost-cutting thing, but it shows the less than diligent maintenance policy down at the brewery. Can you imagine that flying when the 3rd was running the show. H-ll no! Even the 4th would be all over that.
Maybe I'm making a mountain out of a molehill, but I've never seen it out under the past regime.
Maybe I'm making a mountain out of a molehill, but I've never seen it out under the past regime.
My bet would be very good for Chicago and its respective marketing/advertising firms and very bad for St. Louis, Milwaukee and Denver. Think Boeing (St Louis didn't lose a lot of jobs; Howver, Seattle lost HQ prestige when they made their move to Chicago) or SBC/ATT (After Southwest Bell bailed on St. Louis they went to San Antonio only to dump San An for a Dallas HQ, same desires wanted for their corp HQ). St Louis nor Milwaukee nor Denver can't compete on the shear number of resources and flights available in Chicago. In fact, I think it would be a blood bath over the fight for any back office jobs they wouldn't move to Chicago.DogtownBnR wrote:^this could be VERY bad or VERY good for St. Louis. Where would the NA HQ be located. SABmiller has is HQ'd in Chicago I believe. Miller is in Milwaukee, ABINBEV is in NYC, INBEV in Belgium and AB in St. Louis. Something has got to give. A central location like St. Louis seems to be the best solution..
I just read the article at stltoday and came here to bring up that exact topic. Seeing "Regulators likely would require any merger between A-B InBev and SABMiller to divest of some U.S. beer brands." made my mind instantly jump to Michelob as a prime candidate in that hypothetical divestment. Is there any real way Michelob could be split from AB or are the operations too intertwined? And if this did occur, anyone know how large Michelob as an independent operation would be in comparison to Sam Adams, since they're now apparently the largest US-owned brewery?DogtownBnR wrote:^ How about a sale of Michelob to a local group headed by the 4th. Since he is so depressed and does not know what to do with himself, this could be his new passion.
I thought I heard a rumor that he wanted Michelob as part of the deal. It must have been just that. It was never mentioned in the book by JM, nor have I heard anything about a spin-off during the buyout. Also, the 4th was paid by INBEV to lay low and be a consultant. I believe he signed a non-compete as well. I could be wrong though.
That seems standard considering he is on the board.
IF (big if) a deal were to take place, I'd hope they would stay/expand here. That with a new WHQ for an independent Michelob would be a coup for STL in my eyes.
- 6,775
If the combined company had a market share of 80%, spinning off Michelob would probably knock it down to 79%. In other words, Michelob is tiny compared to sales of Bud, Bud Light, Miller Light, etc.jrathert wrote:I just read the article at stltoday and came here to bring up that exact topic. Seeing "Regulators likely would require any merger between A-B InBev and SABMiller to divest of some U.S. beer brands." made my mind instantly jump to Michelob as a prime candidate in that hypothetical divestment. Is there any real way Michelob could be split from AB or are the operations too intertwined? And if this did occur, anyone know how large Michelob as an independent operation would be in comparison to Sam Adams, since they're now apparently the largest US-owned brewery?DogtownBnR wrote:^ How about a sale of Michelob to a local group headed by the 4th. Since he is so depressed and does not know what to do with himself, this could be his new passion.
I thought I heard a rumor that he wanted Michelob as part of the deal. It must have been just that. It was never mentioned in the book by JM, nor have I heard anything about a spin-off during the buyout. Also, the 4th was paid by INBEV to lay low and be a consultant. I believe he signed a non-compete as well. I could be wrong though.
That seems standard considering he is on the board.
IF (big if) a deal were to take place, I'd hope they would stay/expand here. That with a new WHQ for an independent Michelob would be a coup for STL in my eyes.
It's possible that when you combine every brand that is under the "Michelob" unmbreall, it could be 2 or 3%, but I can't imagine much more.
I would be somewhat shocked if this could get US approval without spinning off basically the whole us fraction of one of the two companies.
Plus European regulators would probably be pretty intense.
Plus European regulators would probably be pretty intense.
Great old photo of a Budweiser booth at a Shriner's barbeque in 1922:
http://www.shorpy.com/node/10177?size=_original
http://www.shorpy.com/node/10177?size=_original
http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/ ... 2bc8b.html
AB buying Goose Island and Ore.-based Craft Brewers Alliance Inc.
Obviously, Craft is a major focus going forward.
AB buying Goose Island and Ore.-based Craft Brewers Alliance Inc.
Obviously, Craft is a major focus going forward.
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The key is buying or developing a craft beer that is for one, a very good, high quality, unique product. The other key is marketing it as a 'craft' beer, sort of like Blue Moon did for so long, without giving away the fact that it is owned by AB. (at least to the masses, that may not care) See this line on Wikipedia, Blue Moon....
"Coors does not actively advertise the fact that the brew is owned by Coors on the belief that being associated with a major national brewery would diminish its credibility among aficionados. Blue Moon is instead branded as being brewed by the "Blue Moon Brewing Company."
- 6,775
It's a direction AB IV wanted to go, before InBev bought. AB III had no interest. He thought everyone would be happy drinking Bud and Bud Light.innov8ion wrote:^ They should have bought good craft beer a long time ago...
It did, to some extent. Shocktop, Beach Bum Blonde Ale (is that still sold?), and the other two seasonals, among others.moorlander wrote:Michelob should have filled that niche.