SABMiller - Competitors

SABMiller Competition

Now Viewing SABMiller's competition in: Breweries (primary)

Recent Developments

Hops Shortage Creates Change at Breweries - A worldwide shortage of hops is causing brewers to change their beer recipes. Hops production began decreasing several years ago as many US farmers switched from growing hops to growing the crops in demand by the ethanol industry. Bad weather in other major hops-producing countries in 2007 brought the shortage to critical levels in 2008, according to National Public Radio. Brewers are exploring replacing hops with other bittering agents such as coffee or spruce.

Keg Theft Growing Problem - Keg theft is becoming a major problem for the US beer industry, according to the Beer Institute. More than 300,000 kegs are stolen each year, costing the industry more than $50 million. Thieves steel the kegs to sell them to scrap metal dealers.

Lawsuit Filed to Block Sale of Anheuser-Busch - A lawsuit intended to block the purchase of Anheuser-Busch (A-B) by Belgium-based InBev has been filed in St. Louis. The plaintiffs claim that the deal will violate US antitrust law if completed as planned. A-B says that it will fight the lawsuit.

Competitive Landscape

The major driver of demand is consumer leisure activity. The profitability of individual companies depends on marketing, distribution, and operational efficiency. Large companies have advantages in marketing and sales, production economies of scale, and influence with distributors. Small companies can compete effectively by developing specialty products and serving a local or regional market. Average annual revenue per worker is $625,000, but is typically around $140,000 in small companies.

Full Industry Overview For Breweries

Breweries Industry Forecast

from Hoover's/D&B subsidiary First Research

The output of US breweries is forecast to grow at an annual compounded rate of 4 percent between 2008 and 2013.

Breweries Growth Flat

First Research forecasts are based on INFORUM forecasts that are licensed from the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc. (IERF) in College Park, MD. INFORUM's "interindustry-macro" approach to modeling the economy captures the links between industries and the aggregate economy.