urbanSTL

Maybe so but it still doesn't justify trying to destroy America's most iconic brand. this InBev company has been all around bad for St.Louis. The only thing good that has come out of it are the many local micro brews that are popping up from former employee's of the company

That's correct. Sort of anyways. I think they might view the Budweiser brands as stagnant. Where as they might believe there are other brands ripe for growth both in the US and abroad. Just my own speculation.

To be clear, SABMiller is NOT Coors. Coors is Molson Coors, the 7th largest brewing company in the world. But in the US, they have a joint venture to sell their products.

I read another article a while back that suggested that if AB-InBev bought SABMiller, one thing they could do to avoid anti-trust violations is simply divest themselves of that joint venture, meaning they essentially wouldn't be buying the American portion of SABMiller.

While I'm not sure they'd do that AND spin-off Budweiser, that would jive with the idea that they don't see the US as the targeted market for growth.

There goes AB STL Sales and Marketing. Off to NYC.....

http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/ ... c4a7d.html



Bon voyage AB, slowly, but surely!!

Beverage company consolidation is unprecedented. The AB that many lament on this board is no longer. You're trying to frame the old AB in a fake story against a global conglomerate that's in talks to buy SAB Miller.

St Louisans would do well to let the past die gracefully and quickly usher in something new. That's how progressive cities do it and this issue is bigger than AB; it's how business works.

ttricamo wrote:Beverage company consolidation is unprecedented. The AB that many lament on this board is no longer. You're trying to frame the old AB in a fake story against a global conglomerate that's in talks to buy SAB Miller.

St Louisans would do well to let the past die gracefully and quickly usher in something new. That's how progressive cities do it and this issue is bigger than AB; it's how business works.

Well said, move on folks...

^^I appreciate the lesson in business, but that is not what is being lamented here, at least by myself.

The simple fact is, that AB could have been the company buying the global beverage companies and should have been. The global beer conglomerate should have been right here in STL, had the 3rd had the foresight to look beyond the US beer market. AB had every chance to swallow INBEV years ago. They also had the power to swallow Miller. Since they focused on market share in the US mainly, they got swallowed. Even if craft beer is the future, AB could have had it's place and been a strong corporation in STL. Now that INBEV is in charge, I do not expect much of anything to be left here down the road. You are right, big beer will never be the same, but again, it has it's place and it could have been here, had former AB execs played their cards right.

I agree, we should let it die, but not recognizing what could have been here had AB been the aggressor, is short-sighted. It will never be like the old boys club atmosphere at AB. I understand that, but if you know how the story went, you'd know that the global conglomerate should have been here, run by St. Louisians. Had AB bought INBEV in the 90s, the rest of Corona and made other acquisitions, STL would be home to a global giant. Instead, the long term future is probably a museum and small brewery, assuming INBEV realizes how inefficient the centuries old buildings are.

Summary: ABI moved key decision makers and "cut fat." Those talented people they let go have gone on to start their own businesses. St. Louis remains NAHQ for now. About 80% of their local employees are now related to production.

This is explained in more detail in the follow up article "Where have all of the A-B employees gone?" Here are just a few of the new businesses we owe to the AB buyout:

Career Innovation Partners
Brew Hub
UCBC
Kirmser Ponturo Group LLC
Furr Strategy Group LLC
Facility Planning Inc
Muhleman Family Vineyard
Ferguson Brewing Company
Winkler Productions
O'Fallon Brewery
901 Tequila
iSEE Innovations In

^Thanks for the info!

I'm just curious, what exactly the NAHQ means anymore. It just seems as if AB is their largest brewery and that is about it. What other major functions are still based here? Does anyone know? Does anyone know what the total number of employees are here now? What that number was pre-takeover?

I think what many predicted, is slowly coming true. STL will be home to a major brewery and some skeleton staff for the NYC office. It is very unfortunate, considering the fact that AB-Modelo could have been based here. I think it has been great that AB is doing things like the Christmas lights, the beer garden etc.. However, that seems to be masking the misery created by constant layoffs at the STL campus. Besides the brewing operation, I assume the campus will be a beer museum for AB. So unfortunate!

It's just a title. Key decisions were already being made in NY prior to all this recently.

Employees

About 6,000 people worked for A-B in the St. Louis area before the merger. The company has said that number was about 4,000 at the end of 2011. The company refused to provide local workforce figures to the Business Journal.

and

still, the company in 2011 said it would invest more than $1 billion in its U.S. breweries and facilities by 2014, including to modernize operations here. Jim Brickey, A-B's vice president of people, said in a statement that the company has invested more than $300 million in its St. Louis operations since 2009.
It is also investing $150 million in its Arnold metal container facility, creating 70 jobs.
Rainford said the brewery and plant jobs now make up 80 percent of A-B InBev's total employment in the region.
"They are primarily a manufacturer here, a producer of beer," Rainford said. "A-B is still going to remain a major employer, and we're going to treat them with respect."
The drop off in employment numbers — along with a shift in corporate culture — have led to physical changes at the company's Soulard headquarters, once home to plush private offices.

and

"While A-B is a beer company, it's really a marketing machine," he said. "And now that marketing machine is being moved."

^ I would guess, since the number was around 4K in 2011, that it is somewhere between 2K-3K. More than likely somewhere closer to 2K after Sales & Marketing bolts.

7700?

How could rust belt cities revive if no one would give them a chance

True_dope wrote:How could rust belt cities revive if no one would give them a chance

Many chances have been "given." Looks like the public sector needs to make good investment/policy decisions moving forward that can help the private sector attract talent.

Expanding rail transit (streetcar, N/S metro link) will help a lot. But the way STL operates, I wont be surprised if we get to the streetcar party extremely late.

They told me that it was a strategic move by AB because St. Louis is a very hard city to attract outside talent in the marketing field.

The pre-InBev AB didn't seem to have any problems with that.

That's true to an extent I suppose. I would bet that the old AB spent more on marketing than every other company in town, combined, every year.

Ironically, the Orthwein Family provided substantial funding to start McDonnel, which gave way to McDonnel Douglas, which gave way to Boeing.

So the AB families have been involved in two businesses in STL that were bought by out of town competitors.

AB to open up new museum in the old schoolhouse that served as their executive suite for years -

http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/ ... ab505.html

roger wyoming II wrote: Also, has anyone been to the biergarten?

Yes. It's pretty awesome. I watched a world cup game there.

A group of about 10 out of town friends went to do the brewmaster tour last Saturday. They were VERY impressed.