Fosters Pulls Vb From Coles/woolworths Shelves

[WarmBeer]

This isn't about VB. For Fosters it's the dreadful reality that Coles and Woolies can now completely bypass them by directly importing top quality German, Dutch and - soon - Czech beers which they sell for around $29 a case. Currently I have a slab of top of the range German Henninger lager produced under the German purity law - and it's delicious - so why would I want to spend $40 for a slab of adjunct-laden, chemically stabilised, artificially hopped, foul tasting Carlton produced swill? Fosters are flexing their muscles but I think they have left their run too late.

I suspect this BribieG character may be a shill for Henninger. I demand full disclosure!

Next we know he'll be on the Age website as a proponent for Midnight Train Malt Liquor.

 

[DU99]

i know our woolworth's store sell's VB to one of independents,because of the price the brewery charges to him..coke does the same thing..if your a big chain it's one price and if your not it's another..

 

[Silo Ted]

Here's how it unfolded.

Woolworths drop a mole into Coles HQ, telling them that Woolworths are going to sell cut price beer.

Coles act first and produce leaflets about to be distributed to the public.

Woolworths are expected to follow suit, to avoid suspicion.

As orchestrated, Fosters pull supply.

Drinkers love their VB so much they go to the pub more often. Pay $5 a schooner, and drop $200 in the poker machines. They leave with a convenient $50 carton of VB to take home, because the supermarkets no longer stock it.

Little does everyone know that Woolworths is a major pub owner (of ALH Group) and also the biggest single poker machine operator in Australia, with over 10,000 machines.

 

[MarkyMark]

One reason Fosters won't want it is the smaller bottle shops will buy VB from coles/woolies instead of from Fosters. Smaller outlets pay a premium above what Fosters charge coles/woolies because of the smaller buying power. Fosters miss out on this premium if the small guys buy from coles at below cost.

I also agree these low prices hurt craft breweries, which is bad.

Cheers

Mar

 

[DU99]

that would interesting if that's what there doing..why don't they drop the price on L/N stuff and see how long Foster's blacklist them..

 

[Strange Brew]

There has been another development. Coles was selling Penfolds 389 as a loss leader so Fosters got thier staff to go to coles and buy up 60% of it. So they sold it to coles for $44 a bottle and bought it back for $37 a bottle and then sold it on to independants.

Link

 

[Silo Ted]

I also agree these low prices hurt craft breweries, which is bad.

Absolutely - how can drinkers be expected to try something from a shop's hand-crafted range, when a 6 pack costs $27 (actual retail price of a Sydney Micro's beer) yet 24 beers cost one dollar more ? I'll still buy the hand-crafted stuff, as will others here, but if the industry is to grow, more people need to be converted. At $28 for a carton of VB, it's not going to happen on any grand scale.

 

[Nick JD]

Absolutely - how can drinkers be expected to try something from a shop's hand-crafted range, when a 6 pack costs $27 (actual retail price of a Sydney Micro's beer) yet 24 beers cost one dollar more ? I'll still buy the hand-crafted stuff, as will others here, but if the industry is to grow, more people need to be converted. At $28 for a carton of VB, it's not going to happen on any grand scale.

I think beer ignorance is the biggest enemy of the craftbrewed beer. Ask your average punter in a pub to name a hop - or to name a beer style.

Most people think VB is a "Bitter". Says it on the can, mate.

I've had people flatly tell me I'm lying when I say XXXX, or VB or whatever, is a lager.

Ask your megaswill mates what beer is made from. I'd guess 50% of drinkers don't know it's made from barley, and flowers.

The consumer of lame beer is great beer's biggest enemy.

What if people actually demanded a higher quality of beer? Something with body, aroma and flavour? Would the Megaswill companies change?

The duopoly that currently exists is killing Aussie beer.

 

[J Grimmer]

I think you missed my point, I was stating the same as you, however you expanded a lot more. A friend of mine works for a company that supplies coles and woolworths, and they are very aggressive with regards to pricing and discounts for promotions. Their argument I am told is that sure you are selling it cheaper, but you are moving more units......

this was not referred to your post it is the BS these companies use to promote a cheapper price.

 

[Silo Ted]

snip/ beer is made from /snip/ flowers. /snip

No ! That's so.... GAY !

 

[The Giant]

"By trying to sell alcohol at lower prices than bottled water, the supermarkets risk drawing the negative attention of government and regulators concerned about rises in drunken violence, one industry expert warned."

Shouldn't we be more concerned about the massive rip-off going on in bottled water?

In all fairness water is actually quite expensive to bottle.

You have the cost of establishing the equipment at the source, then you have transport which is generally only done by tankers and most expensive of all is all the handling of it and treatment of the water to protect the consumers from anything nasty at the source. Because u dont have sugars and preservatives etc in water and it is 'natural' the level of sanitisation and micro is very high and labour intensive compared to say coke.

 

[HoppingMad]

I know someone will tell me but, why should CUB care what price it is sold at the liquor store for when they are still getting there $30 a carton for it? It is the liquor stores taking the punt and under pricing the beer.

Drew

If you're aware of what happened to Tooheys Brands in the 90s like Hahn Ice and Tooheys Blue & Red when they started heavily discounted them - then you'd understand CUB's concern. Heavy price discounting is a sure-fire way of killing your brand and losing sales longterm.

Put a lower price on something and then it is considered not to be as valuable as it once was by the consumer.

This is what happened when Tooheys slashed prices on Hahn Ice, Blue, Red and others - as well as migrating the packaging to '30 can bulk blocks'. They effectively created a new problem where they couldn't later raise the price and became the 'Black & Gold' of beers. Stuck between a rock and a hard place.

VB never heavily discounted below a certain pricepoint and has continued to be seen by many in the megaswill market as being a cut above those brands - despite there probably being very little difference in terms of what goes in the can/bottle. VB eventually did retail in a 30 can block, but they always set their lowest price higher than the rest at most outlets so they were perceived as better.

Hopper.

 

[azrebb]

What shits me (coming from a small retailer) is the newspaper article suggests that at $28 Coles/Woolies will be selling a case of VB below the "$33 wholesale" value of the case and well below the normal "$38 retail" price ticket.

No small retailer can come even close to this and make any margin!

Fosters sells VB to small retailers for around $40 (inc GST) normally and maybe for $37ish when buying as part of the IGA/Local Liquor/Bottlo promotion

It is utter Coles/Woolies b*&^sh&t that it is so established in the public's mind that cases of VB should cost $38 normally and $33 when on special. It's so frustrating when a punter (who doesn't know that there are other nice beers out there) comes into Plonk asking for a case of VB and walks out laughing when we tell them the price is between $40 and $45.

Not that Plonk sells a lot of VB

Bring on the mixed case of Belgian/American/British/German/Aussie craft beer!!

+1

I also work for an independent. When not on special we are actually cheaper than BWS or Liquorland, but when Joe Blow comes in for his Carlton Mid/XXXX Gold and we tell him the price, all we get is a "I can get it cheaper down the road" even when he actually can't.

 

[Wolfy]

XXXX Gold and we tell him the price, all we get is a "I can get it cheaper down the road"

I often find this in dad's fridge since he affectionately calls it "pensioner piss" because it's purchased for no reason other than it having the lowest price tag.

 

[Sunshine_Brewer]

Was just in BWS, Oettinger $24 :beerbang: lots of other specials on beer too. I was just about to brew some pale lagers, maybe i'll make some dark ones instead...

 

[Brad Churchill]

Conspiracy Theories. Gotta love em. :icon_cheers:

Here's how it unfolded.

Woolworths drop a mole into Coles HQ, telling them that Woolworths are going to sell cut price beer.

Coles act first and produce leaflets about to be distributed to the public.

Woolworths are expected to follow suit, to avoid suspicion.

As orchestrated, Fosters pull supply.

Drinkers love their VB so much they go to the pub more often. Pay $5 a schooner, and drop $200 in the poker machines. They leave with a convenient $50 carton of VB to take home, because the supermarkets no longer stock it.

Little does everyone know that Woolworths is a major pub owner (of ALH Group) and also the biggest single poker machine operator in Australia, with over 10,000 machines.

 

[DanRayner]

One reason Fosters won't want it is the smaller bottle shops will buy VB from coles/woolies instead of from Fosters. Smaller outlets pay a premium above what Fosters charge coles/woolies because of the smaller buying power. Fosters miss out on this premium if the small guys buy from coles at below cost.

I also agree these low prices hurt craft breweries, which is bad.

Cheers

Mar

+1

Wasn't going to mention that but hell! if little independents can match Coles'/Woolies' regular price for 5 weeks out 6 (or whatever the cycle of specials is) with their own stock that Coles/Woolies sold to the little independent at a loss when it was on ridiculous-special then good on them!