Comments on: Why Foreign Ownership of Local Breweries Matters

By: Rick

Rick — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 16:04:27 +0000

While this only considers the financial implications of foreign ownership, Kalle brings up an important point — no attachment to the product. A stark example of this is Coors’ ownership of Bass. They want to close the Bass Museum, which is rightly angering locals and those who appreciate the invaluable beer heritage such a collection represents: http://www.burtonmail.co.uk/burtonmail-news-saveourheritage/.

By: Stonch

Stonch — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 11:05:33 +0000

$128m is tiny amount on a national scale…

By: Bailey

Bailey — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 08:27:11 +0000

Evan — great post, and nice to see facts and figures in play.

Kalle — you might find this useful if you’re uncomfortable drinking beer brands that have been taken over by foreign companies. I find it a bit depressing as there are lots on the list that I’ve enjoyed.

By: Kalle

Kalle — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 10:50:18 +0000

For me, it’s harder to enjoy a good beer if I have bought it from a company that i dislike (for example multinationals like Inbev or Heineken), and I also feel lika I’m being fooled if I buy a product from a company that doesn’t have any attachment to the product, and only try to get my money. So, the worst thing with this for me is that it will make it harder for me to enjoy Březňák and Zlatopramen, which were OK beers, though not as good as for example the mentioned Primátor, which I luckily can get at my local store here in Sweden (at least the Premium Lager and the Premium Dark).

By: Pivero

Pivero — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 09:28:49 +0000

There is something else to consider about foreign ownership´.
One thing is when a big corporation like Heineken takes over a relatively big brewer like Drinks Union, and another thing is when a foreign investor buys a smaller brewery.
Drinks Union would have certainly survived very well all by itself. They already had a pretty solid position in the market, and their future didn’t look to bad either.
But what about someone like Herold, or Žatec? Will they have survived without a foreign investor taking over? I doubt it. Yes, I’m pretty sure that the profits don’t stay here, at least not the lion’s share, but those beers are still being brewed.

By: E.S. Delia

E.S. Delia — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 18:37:26 +0000

Just to play devil’s advocate here…

But wouldn’t the internal sales pay sweet salaries to operations directors at these breweries? Also, with the financial backing of the Big Boys, perhaps fueling job growth in the breweries themselves with invested capital would in turn have these workers spending money locally on other goods. Not only that, but wouldn’t people be tempted migrate into the Czech Republic to compete for these jobs, further fueling the economy? Could there be side benefits of EU membership here?

I’m sure this hypothetical scenario wouldn’t equal out to $128 million, and there are a lot of factors in play, but it’s something to consider. This is basically International Political Economy… globalization on a smaller scale.