UK: Carling’s performance has been undermined by price promotions and an ill-defined positioning

Carling's value sales fell from £155 million-£160 million to £135 million-£140 million, knocking 11% off its sales in grocery stores according to the recent TNS Worldpanel 2006 Biggest Brands survey, Brand Republic posted August 23.

Although the value of beer and lager sales overall has been eroded by widespread price promotions such as multi-buys, many of the Coors Brewery-owned brand's competitors have recorded sales increases.

InBev's Stella Artois, the grocery market leader, experienced modest sales growth of 4% to £310 million-£315 million, in the year to 23 April 2006. Carling, while still top in the on-trade, where it is growing, is number two in the off-trade and is more likely to have lost customers to Scottish Courage brand Foster's, in third place, which recorded a 32% sales hike to £105 million-£110 million.

Christmas brought little joy for Carling as its reliance on price promotions proved to be its undoing, with consumers lured by brands perceived to be more premium, also being sold at a discount. In recent months, Carling says it has increased prices, while some rivals continue to discount.

Carling has a long-standing tie with football, having invested £100 million in the game over the past 15 years. Current involvement includes the naming rights sponsorship of the League Cup in a deal running to 2009.

The brand has also focused on creating a link with music, and sponsors nine venues around the country, and the Carling Weekend and Leeds festival.

In an innovative move, it became the first brand to sponsor buskers on the London Underground. Despite concerns that the association might be a bad thing, 95% of Tube travellers said the performers cheered up their commute, according to a TNS survey.

Carling, the UK's best selling beer with sales of more than 1 billion pints a year, emerged under US control in late 2001 when US-based Adolph Coors has bought Carling Brewers from Belgium's Interbrew for US$1.7 billion. Presently, it is brewed by Molson Coors Brewing Company, which is one of the world's largest brewers, with combined annual volume of more than 48 million hectoliters and net sales of more than US$5.6 billion. Molson Coors is a leading brewer in Canada through Molson Canada and in the U.K. through Coors Brewers Ltd., and has a growth profile in the U.S. through Coors Brewing Company.

Founded by pioneering families and tracing its roots back to 1786, Molson Coors Brewing Company has over 11,000 employees worldwide, 10 breweries in three different countries, and a broad portfolio of over 40 brands which besides Carling also includes Molson Canadian and Coors Light.

E-malt.com, the global information source for the brewing and malting industry professionals. The bi-weekly E-malt.com Newsletters feature latest industry news, statistics in graphs and tables, world barley and malt prices, and other relevant information. Click here to get full access to E-malt.com. If you are a Castle Malting client, you can get free access to E-malt.com website and publications. Contact us for more information at marketing@castlemalting.com .