Anheuser-Busch to Pay Record $5 Million Offer In Compromise for Trade Practice Violations

Discussion in 'Beer News' started by Todd, Jul 9, 2020.

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  1. billandsuz

    billandsuz Pooh-Bah (2,023) Sep 1, 2004 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Nope. Not the same.
    • Coke and Pepsi are not selling a legal beverage through the three tier system.
    • Coke and Pepsi are not selling through a distro which is the de facto tax collector for the government.
    • Coke and Pepsi are not subject to alcohol laws and 50 different state regulations.
    • Coke and Pepsi do not sell through a government sanctioned monopoly that requires a license.
    • Coke and Pepsi do not require long term contracts that are virtually impossible to break.
    • Coke and Pepsi sell one primary product, Cola.
    • Coke and Pepsi service their accounts fairly reasonably; there are options. Limited but they exist. AB Inbev and MolsonCoors account for 85% of every beer sold.
    There is no reasonable comparison to be made.
    And there is also this.
    Beer is food. Coca Cola is something else entirely.

    Cheers.
     
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  2. MNAle

    MNAle Initiate (0) Sep 6, 2011 Minnesota

    All the things you listed are legal differences, which I acknowledged. There is no anticompetitive, monopolistic, or good vs evil difference.
     
  3. MNAle

    MNAle Initiate (0) Sep 6, 2011 Minnesota

    There is a simple first step that does not involve the Feds at all or hiring a bunch of expensive investigators.

    AFAIK, any state can choose to make this change in the law.

    Do away with franchise laws as they pertain to beer distributorships. Make the brewer-distributor arrangement a simple business to business contract, with an expiration date and simple termination clauses with and without cause (IOW, either side can terminate with specified costs, etc., not just for non-performance).
     
    #23 MNAle, Jul 10, 2020
    Last edited: Jul 10, 2020
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  4. jesskidden

    jesskidden Grand Pooh-Bah (3,071) Aug 10, 2005 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Not anymore - based on BMI figures quoted by the Brewers Association, they put the combined market share of the US Big Two at under 2/3 for 2019.

    AB InBev - 39.9%
    MillerCoors - 22.6%

    (That 85% figure sounds like their share of the beer brewed in the US - so minus imports. With both of them brewing domestically as well as importing some of their parent companies' brands brewed elsewhere - and some brands switching from import to domestically-brewed (Bass, Beck's, St. Pauli Girl, Molson Golden and XXX, etc), that figure takes some math to figure out these days...:wink:)
     
  5. billandsuz

    billandsuz Pooh-Bah (2,023) Sep 1, 2004 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society

    I was actually hoping you had the numbers. Math is risky and I avoid it if I can. Thanks.
     
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  6. officerbill

    officerbill Pooh-Bah (2,228) Feb 9, 2019 New York
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Coke and Pepsi are selling a legal beverage through state licensed and regulated local/regional distributors, some of whom are also bottlers and many of whom also distribute beer

    In NYS the distributors are responsible for collecting the deposit and forwarding the state it's share
    Distributors of non-alcoholic beverages have exclusive license to sell those products wholesale in their territory, if you want to sell Adirondack seltzer in your store, there's only one place you can get it
    Coca Cola sells 28 separate beverage brands in the US, Pepsi sells 22; that's not counting all of the brand sub categories (diet, caffeine free, flavored, etc)
    There is some limited competition at the shelf level, mostly from store brands (43% Coke & 25% Pepsi for non-alcoholic carbonated beverages), but I truly can not remember the last time I was at a restaurant or bar that served anything other than Coke or Pepsi products (not counting breweries that make their own sodas) and I'd wager their share of the bar/restaurant market is at least 90%. Coke & Pepsi have a market share that ABInbev and MolsonCoors can only dream of.

    I get what you're saying, but on the wholesale/distribution side beer and soda are very similar and “big soda” has even more clout than “big beer”.
     
  7. jesskidden

    jesskidden Grand Pooh-Bah (3,071) Aug 10, 2005 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    42 years ago, different owners and managment, most everybody who was there at the time is dead or long retired...but still a company tradition.

    (Remember that anti-drug commercial where dad finds the kid's dope?
    "Who taught you to do this?" "You did!")
    [​IMG]

    The DoL's Inflation Calculator says $750k in 1978 dollars is a little over $3 million today - so the current fine is still tops.:grin:
     
  8. SFACRKnight

    SFACRKnight Grand Pooh-Bah (3,274) Jan 20, 2012 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I'm glad I am not the only one lamenting the loss of the orange hi c at macdonald's. Also, come grocery shopping at my local Kroger, you can earn a pension bagging your own stuff.
     
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  9. BBThunderbolt

    BBThunderbolt Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,282) Sep 24, 2007 Kiribati
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    And still waaaayyyy too smol.
     
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  10. keithmurray

    keithmurray Pooh-Bah (2,943) Oct 7, 2009 Connecticut
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Im sure they spill more beer than that per month
     
  11. semibaked

    semibaked Pooh-Bah (1,897) Mar 27, 2007 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah Deactivated

    Funny how the sports and entertainment venues aren’t fined for participating in this illegal activity.
     
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  12. rgordon

    rgordon Pooh-Bah (2,677) Apr 26, 2012 North Carolina
    Pooh-Bah Society

    In my experience those that receive free goods talk about it and attempt to leverage their graft for your business. "But the Bud guys gave me free kegs". I heard this all of the time. It was always motivation for me.
     
  13. ilikebeer03

    ilikebeer03 Pooh-Bah (2,262) Oct 17, 2012 Texas
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    If the benefit is greater than fine/risk, then it is no longer a penalty. Just a good investment.
     
  14. cjgiant

    cjgiant Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,560) Jul 13, 2013 District of Columbia
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Lol - having been a grocery store cashier, I actually like this innovation (which was in the works when I left the grocery industry 20 years ago).

    At least there aren't beer places that have you fill your own beer.

    Nevermind.
     
  15. SFACRKnight

    SFACRKnight Grand Pooh-Bah (3,274) Jan 20, 2012 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Baggers have been cut all together. They push you towards the self checkout. I had an employee roll her eyes at me when I walked up to her lane. She explained self checkout had no line, I explained I was trying to keep her employed.
     
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  16. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,181) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    I have an opposite story. I went to my local post office (I have not been there in a while) and while waiting in line to buy stamps I see a self service kiosk which was not there last time I went. I said to myself: why wait in line when I can use a self service kiosk. I went through the series of screens to make my purchase with the last step being the credit card transaction but the stupid machine gave me a 'reject' message. I tried one more time and once again 'reject'. I turned around to see that the line got longer during the time I was playing with the machine. I got into the (longer) line and eventually I purchased my stamps from an employee using my credit card. At the end of this transaction I made mention to the woman that I tried to buy the stamps using the self-service kiosk but it rejected my credit card. Her response (which I did not expect) was: "Well, then we would not get a chance to see you then". She said this with a smile which I interpreted that she happy to help me. As I drove home I wondered if there was any 'foul play' to render the self-service kiosk to not work properly. Not likely since this would require effort by a federal employee?

    Cheers!
     
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  17. KentT

    KentT Pundit (773) Oct 15, 2008 Tennessee

    Should have been $5 Billion $$ $or even $5 Trillion $$$.
     
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  18. MNAle

    MNAle Initiate (0) Sep 6, 2011 Minnesota

    One of the side effects of ever higher minimum wage.
     
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  19. WunderLlama

    WunderLlama Grand Pooh-Bah (4,486) Dec 27, 2010 Massachusetts
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    A $5 million dollar Fine to Budweiser is the equivalent of a $5.65 fine to the average person in the US ($59039). That is pocket change and not a deterrent to future criminal activity.
     
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  20. Fenski

    Fenski Pundit (755) Apr 24, 2008 Ohio
    Society

    I've seen a lot of comments regarding how minimal this fine is, so let's talk about who is imposing the fine. The TTB obviously is aware of annual revenue numbers for ABInBev. They have to realize that a fine of that amount would have very little effect on both the balance sheet and as a deterrent of future illegal behavior. So why would they impose such a relatively small fine? I think we all know why. I would like more details on who made the decision on the amount (yes I want names) and explicit statements on why they settled on a measly $5,000,000 fine for clearly monopolistic practices that have been stifling and continue to stifle so many smaller brewers (pretty much every brewer). I want accountability. Again, I think we all know what is going on. I would like to see how much Bud Light is in these decision-makers' garages. And the Super Bowl/Final Four/World Series/front row to X artist tickets they have received.
     
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