Stella firm buys Budweiser brewer

BBC News ^ | July 14, 2008

[DoughtyOne]

Yet in your multiple posts, you claim to know what the outcome will be, but haven't provided any evidence or facts to back up your position.  I have stated what my concerns were.  Are you and the Boogermeister not able to understand what that is vs a definitive declaration?

Will InBev ultimately cut a sizeable number of positions within AB here in America? Maybe so. Maybe not. Only time will tell. But I don't see them spending $52 Billion on AB and engaging in actions to reduce the value of the purchase. Let alone to drastically reduce its value.

And quickly, or even out in the future just a little, to start slashing AB jobs will almost without doubt, cause a beer drinker revolt against them.   I was a member of a privately held LLC.  The owner saw some industry problems on the horizon, and sold his firm to corporation one.  Unsolicited, I told him I thought the move was a sound one on his part, and I congratulated him.  I still think it was a good move for him.  It was his business, and he was sharp to do it.  He made agreements with the corporation that would protect our employees.  He didn't have to do it. Corporation two came along thirty days later and bought out corporation one.  In thirty days the one stand alone business was part of a conglomeratition that that now represented perhaps 20 to 35% of the United States market in that field.  It was a massive corporation.

When the second corporation jumped in, it sliced outlets by consolidating.  I was employed at the largest concern of it's kind in the United States.  Unfortunately, so were the employees of four other outlets.  My position was one that was a corporate in-house postion back east, and even though they tried to work things out, over a period of time those who had held the job I took during the interum, ultimately had more experince and expertise and I was let go.

I'm not crying in spilled milk here.  I had seen what was taking place, and I was realistic about the outcome.  I positioned myself well and rode it out.  I think they did the proper thing.  I was somewhat revlieve to go.

During the transition, I complied with the corporate team sent in to help us do what we had to do.  I consulted with and followed the policies that were presented by this team.  I took actions with my staff that were intended to accomplish what I had been asked to do, and realized those goals.  I followed the direction of my on site Executive Director, and other site executives.

And then I took heat for doing exactly what the corporate start-up team had asked me to do, for what the Executive Director had asked me to do, and for not being able to work my end of the operation with half the FTEs of facilities half our size had.

And the outcome was that we lost 20 to 35% of our business, angered many of our customers which hadn't left by the time I had, and would certainly be impacting the concern negatively long into the future.  And during the time I was leaving, they started to implement another policy that was sure to rub customers the wrong way.

Look, this stuff happens.  I could care less.  Acting like we know what Budweiser will face over the next 24 months is silly.  Some good points can be made that we have a pretty good idea, but I have seen corporations make decsions that went against their own corporate interests.  I have seen them destroy 20 to 35% of their business, making decsions nobody was certainly why they were making, including the site Executive Director.

You folks think you know what will happen.  You're happy with that.  So am I.  Will you be right?  We'll see.

[DoughtyOne]

If they offered 200% of the value, I don't think you'd get a whole lot of folks complaining about immanent domain.

Look, it's a philosophical question. Is it reasoned? Perhaps not. I think it causes folks to contemplate their assumptions.

[AndyJackson]

Okay, I'm a beer snob

We can only hope that Stella will make AH start producing with water, malted barley, hops and yeast. If you don't know what it is don't mess with it.

[AndyJackson]

will this make Budweiser better or Stella worse

Stella is good beer, but it is not like they don't have some competition in the homeland to worry about. If Stella gets worse they will disappear.

[DoughtyOne]

I forgot to mention I like your Harry Ried comment. I’ll see your Ried and raise you a Pelosi and a Frank.

[DoughtyOne]

This was my second post on this thread, and I still think it reflects my views pretty well, after the questions folks had with my comments.

Do you really have that much problem with it overall? I’m kindof surprised if you do.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2045054/posts?page=36#36

[nathanbedford]

700 years of Reinheitsgebot

[nathanbedford]

You know it never occurred to me that beer vom Fass (from the keg) also comes from an aluminum container. I suppose originally they were made of wood. In any event, as Hunter 112 points out, the beer is poured into a glass before it is poured down the gullet.

Good point.

[never4get]

LOL, generic beer....One step up on Ol’ Billy Beer I suppose.