My finance view

Top executives at Anheuser-Busch Cos. are exulting over one of the brewer’s strongest summers in several years — but they’re pushing their sales and marketing staffs for more.

After performing below expectations in early 2008, the St. Louis-based company caught up to its plan. So far this year, beer distributors are selling more beer to retailers than was expected. The company says it is gaining market share against its arch-rival, the Chicago-based MillerCoors joint venture.

As the biggest U.S. brewer is in the process of being acquired by InBev of Belgium, executives want to spread the message: Us, distracted? Don’t count on it.

"People have their concerns," said Dave Peacock, vice president of marketing at A-B’s domestic beer company. "But we’ve tried to maintain a high level of morale, kind of an esprit de corps … keep your head down, keep your eyes fixed forward on the competition."
Bud Light Lime was the biggest reason for A-B’s success this summer, "but I think we’re seeing improvement in the whole portfolio," Peacock said in a telephone interview.

Sales of Bud Light beers — including Bud Light Lime, the year’s biggest beer product launch — are up 6.5 percent over the summer, according to the company cash advance in one hour. Anheuser-Busch plans to reinvest some of the proceeds from Bud Light sales into marketing during the last three months of the year. The commercials will be a little more focused on the product’s attributes, rather than on the pursuit of laughs. The company wants to maintain Bud Light’s momentum and "make sure we apply enough pressure," said Peacock.

Speaking of pressure, Anheuser-Busch touts a new sense of urgency among its sales staff stretching back to last fall — long before InBev announced its takeover bid. Some retailers have noted that Anheuser-Busch’s sales machine is pushier than in the past. That’s music to in the ears of top A-B executives, who have more meetings with their counterparts at Wal-Mart, Kroger, Safeway, 7-11 and other retailers to strengthen the brewer’s relationship with key accounts.

"We have to keep (the momentum) going into next year," said Peacock.

jmcwilliams@post-dispatch.com | 314-340-8372

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