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Memorial Day alcohol sales likely to surge, helping a suffering industry

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Memorial Day alcohol sales likely to surge, helping a suffering industry

 

In this photo illustration, bottles of Miller Lite and Bud Light beer that are products of SABMiller and Anheuser-Busch InBev (respectively) are shown on September 15, 2014 in Chicago.

Scott Olson | Getty Images

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Americans spent nearly $3 billion buying alcohol in retail stores in the weeks before and after Memorial Day last year, according to Nielsen data.

But with the coronavirus pandemic this year, government officials are urging consumers to practice social distancing and stay close to home during a popular time for imbibing.

In 2019, Memorial Day was the second-biggest holiday for alcohol consumption, trailing only the Fourth of July, according to Nielsen analysis of retail sales data from the two weeks around the holiday.

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“I’m sure that there’s going to be some drop in sales,” Euromonitor International research analyst Aga Jarzabek said. “It’s going to be much lower than last year, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s still a pretty huge spike for Memorial Day.”

More consumers are drinking at home, leading total alcohol retail sales to jump 26.5% during the nine weeks ended May 9 from a year earlier, according to Nielsen data. But the closure of restaurants and bars is putting pressure on the industry.

For example, the pandemic is accelerating the decline in consumption of beer in the United States. In recent years, the drink has fallen out of favor with consumers opting for trendier or healthier options.

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Euromonitor now expects steeper drops in beer sales than its prepandemic forecast of a 1% decline. The revised forecast predicts that total sales for the beverage will tumble about 7%, largely due to the plunge in sales from bars and restaurants, which typically account for half of overall beer sales.

While beer consumption is under pressure, bigger beer brands — like Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Bud Light and Molson Coors Beverage’s Miller Lite — are seeing a revival in sales as cash-strapped Americans reach for familiar, inexpensive options. The iconic American beers have the added bonus of coming in larger value packs, ideal for consumers who were pantry loading in March and April to limit their grocery store trips.

“The pandemic has really pushed the consumer toward the big comfort and value brands that they trust,” said Ross Colbert, managing director of KPMG Corporate Finance.

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Wine is faring better than beer, thanks to consumers’ quick pivot to ordering bottles through e-commerce and directly from wineries. Colbert estimates that wine, unlike beer, is making up its losses from restaurants and bars. Nielsen data shows that wine retail sales have risen 30.7% in the nine weeks ended May 9.

The spirits category, which is seeing the largest lift to its retail sales in the same nine-week period, is also making up for the lost bar and restaurant revenue, according to Colbert.

Across beer, wine and spirits, the shift in consumer preferences toward familiar brands is reversing the trend of embracing local craft producers. Combined with craft brewers’ reliance on independent restaurants and taprooms for distribution, the future for smaller alcohol producers looks grim.

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“It will be devastating for many small independent owner-operators,” Colbert said.

The economic fallout from the pandemic could also lead consumers to switch to less pricey alcoholic drinks. That could deal a blow to the industry’s biggest players. AB InBev, Pernod Ricard and Diageo receive about a third of their revenue from premium drinks.

The road to recovery for the industry will likely be long, Jarzabek said. As much as 30% of restaurants will not survive the pandemic, industry experts estimate.

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And although bars and restaurants’ alcohol sales are expected to bounce back somewhat in 2021, Jarzabek said she thinks it could take a few more years to return to 2019 levels.

“I believe there’s going to be a ton of permanent closures, and a ton of brands are just going to disappear,” she said.

 

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(Note: This is a Article Automatically Generated Through Syndication, Here is The Original Source

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Jeff Bezos Lookalike Cagdas Halicilar Enjoys Lavish Lifestyle By Impersonating The Billionaire 

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Jeff Bezos Lookalike Cagdas Halicilar Enjoys Lavish Lifestyle By Impersonating The Billionaire 

A 46-year-old German man, Cagdas Halicilar, is currently the talk of the town as he has emerged on the internet as Jeff Bezos’ lookalike. 

Thus, Cagdas Halicilar has transformed his profession into a professional Jeff Bezos doppleganger from an electrician. 

The 46-year-old reveals that now he lives an opulent lifestyle as an entrepreneur. 

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Cagdas Halicilar was often told by his family and friends that his looks were similar to those of a billionaire. However, only when he saw Jeff Bezos’ picture, did he understand what people around him meant. 

The New York Post reported that Halicilar dreamed of becoming a successful business executive. With him founding CB Transporte, a transport company, he lived his dream. 

After accepting his resemblance to Jeff Bezos, Cagdas Halicilar enrolled himself at a doppelgänger agency. 

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Cagdas Halicilar Gained Popularity by Being Jeff Bezos’ Lookalike

Most of the time, he dressed up in casual attire which made him look more like a billionaire, as Jeff Bezos also dressed up casually. 

Halicilar added, “It doesn’t matter whether I’m wearing a suit or wearing jeans and a polo shirt.”

He added how it requires a bit of effort to maintain his appearance like a billionaire. He shaves his head and applies Nivea cream regularly. The German doppleganger added that he has been doing the same for more than ten years now. 

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The 46-year-old has gained a lot of popularity and recognition over the years for his work as Jeff Bezos’s doppelgänger. His spouse complained that people often stopped him and asked for selfies on the street. 

In the “King of Stonks,” the German Netflix miniseries, he also had a guest spot. 

When in Seattle once, Cagdas Halicilar strolled through the Amazon campus. Surprisingly, Amazon employees thought that he was Jeff Bezos, reported TimesNow.

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He said,

“All the Amazon employees came to me, wanted selfies and thanked me for being proud to work at Amazon.” 

Furthermore, he added,

“My wish is to drink a whiskey with Jeff Bezos on his yacht. He is just as much of a yacht fanatic as I am.”

Also Read: Twitch Streamer Maya Higa Opens Up About Horrific Stalker Incident During Recent Livestream

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Business

Lawsuit Claims Cinemark Shortchanged Customers on Sold Beverages

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Lawsuit Claims Cinemark Shortchanged Customers on Sold Beverages

A North Texas movie-goer has filed a lawsuit over Plano-based Cinemark drink sizes.

The lawsuit alleges that the movie theater chain fleeced its customers by shorting beverages sold in the chain’s canteens.

The chain loudly advertised that the 24-ounce container is a better deal, claiming consumers will get more for less price, while the reality is that Cinemark swindles customers by shortchanging them on sales for the 24-ounce beverage cup.

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Cinemark Accused of Shortchanging Customers on Beverage Sales

The proposed class action lawsuit has been filed in a Texas federal court and it indicts the movie.

The lawsuit further details how consumers got only 22 ounces of liquid, which is the maximum that can be filled in Cinemark’s 24-ounce cups.

It is alleged that the deception was part of a deliberate packaging and pricing practice.

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Also Read: California mother files lawsuit against Tesla after her 2-year-old child starts Model X and runs over her

Theaters pay almost 50% of the revenue generated by ticket sales to the studios but keep all the profits generated by the sales of food and beverage.

Increased competition has pushed the chain to offer concessions and bonuses, and this helped Cinemark in 2023 to record its highest concession sales of all time.

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However, the lawsuit alleges that Cinemark dupes its customers by shortchanging them on sales for the 24-ounce beverage cup instead of the 20-ounce beverage cup.

The reality is that consumers pay less for a 20-ounce cup, which is also a better deal than buying a 24-ounce beverage cup.

The complaint stated,

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“The size of the container in relation to the actual volume of the product contained in it was intended to mislead the consumer into believing the consumer was getting more of the product than what was in the container by a twelfth.”

The lawsuit was brought by Texas resident Shane Waldrop, who purchased a 24-ounce beverage cup in February which cost him $8.80 before tax.

However, on closer look, he realized that the cup was not large enough to hold 24 ounces. This was confirmed later when Shane took the cup home and found that it could contain only 22 ounces of liquid.

Thus, the consumer was duped 2 ounces for every cup he bought.

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The lawsuit charged the movie theater chain with neglectful falsification, deception, unjust profiteering, and a violation of Texas’ Deceptive Trade Practices Act and asked for a court order to halt such practices.

Waldrop is seeking compensatory damages and also demanded a jury trial over the claims.

Also Read: Johnson Controls subsidiary Tyco Fire Products to pay $750 mn to settle ‘forever chemicals’ lawsuit

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Mukesh Ambani’s 67th Birthday: How He Built The Reliance Industries

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Mukesh Ambani Birthday

It is Mukesh Ambani’s 67th birthday, and today we will try to get to know about the incredible journey of this man who, with sheer determination and grit, has created one of the biggest conglomerates in the world.

Reliance Industries, which passed into his hands in the 2000s, grew at a pace which was phenomenal.

Born on April 19 to Dhirubhai Ambani and Kokilaben in Aden, Yemen, where his father was based before moving back to India.

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Reliance Industries was already a big company, but its growth after Mukesh Ambani took on the reins was phenomenal.

With astute business acumen and strategic vision, Ambani has propelled Reliance Industries to dizzying heights, making it one of India’s most powerful empires.

It was under his stewardship that Reliance Industries diversified from being a petroleum company to enter other fields like Telecommunication and the Aerospace industry.

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The 5G revolution, which has swept the country, is largely due to the efforts of Mukesh Ambani and his company Jio. Jio offered high-speed and cheap internet services to the farthest corners of the company, and this helped it to capture a major chunk of the telecommunication sector. Today the nation’s population is using internet data in an unprecedented way.

Another diversification move was the entry of Reliance Industries into retail, energy, petrochemicals, and media. Reliance also acquired and invested in Future Group’s retail assets, as well as the creation of JioMart, an e-commerce venture.

Reliance also entered into a partnership with the Indian media company Viacom18 and the American entertainment giant Disney to create a joint venture, valued at $8.5 billion. The venture also gave exclusive rights to Reliance to distribute Disney productions in India.

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It is his futuristic vision which catalyzed Reliance Industries to invest heavily in the renewable energy sector. The company has built solar and wind energy farms and is contributing in a big way to help India achieve its renewable energy targets while lowering carbon emissions and environmental impact.

Again, it is his futuristic views which made him create the Jio Institute, which is a truly world-class educational institution dedicated to cutting-edge research and technical improvement. The stated motto of the institute is to help develop future leaders and innovators who will help the country grow to become a developed nation in the coming decades.

The phenomenal growth and success of Reliance Industry can be attributed to Mukesh’s keen sense to anticipate market trends, evolve as per changing consumer preferences, seize emerging possibilities, and produce products and services of the highest quality.

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As of April 19, 2024, according to Forbes, Mukesh Ambani’s net worth is to the tune of $115.8 billion, and he is ranked one of the top 10 wealthiest people in the world on Forbes magazine’s annual list of billionaires in 2021, 2022, and 2023.

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