Bud Light buying back unsold, expired beer from wholesalers as sales continue to suffer: report
By Brian Flood | Fox News
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Bud Light has reportedly informed wholesalers it would buy back unsold beer once it expires as the company continues to face backlash from its polarizing pact with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
The Wall Street Journal published a lengthy feature on the company’s struggles after conservatives across America have ditched Bud Light over the saga that began in March when Mulvaney publicized that the beer company sent packs of Bud Light featuring the influencer’s face as a way to celebrate a full year of "girlhood." Backlash was swift, and the promotion is now considered one of the most polarizing in the history of the digital space.
Now it seems parent company Anheuser-Busch is taking steps to help wholesalers who have taken a hit.
"The brewer recently told its wholesalers that it would buy back unsold cases of beer that have gone past their expiration date," the Wall Street Journal report.
Anheuser-Busch did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
"Anheuser-Busch works with 385 independent distributors, or wholesalers, across the country," the WSJ added. "Many of them are family-owned businesses that have carried Anheuser-Busch products for generations … the wholesalers’ employees, many driving trucks bearing the Bud Light logo, were soon confronted by angry people on streets, in stores and in bars. There were bomb threats at several Anheuser-Busch facilities and wholesaler locations."
Compared to a year ago, retail sales of Bud Light in the U.S. were down by 23.6% in the week ending on May 6, surpassing the 23.3% decline the brand saw in the last week of April, according to data from Bump Williams Consulting and NielsenIQ, cited by the New York Post.
Anheuser-Busch InBev CEO Michel Doukeris has attempted to downplay the partnership. He told investors there is "misinformation" spreading on social media about the company's team-up with Mulvaney.
"We need to clarify the facts that this was one can, one influencer, one post and not a campaign," Doukeris said in comments that were expanded on by the WSJ.
"The single personalized can made for Mulvaney was not available for sale. Yet as the backlash picked up, many people, including bar and store owners, wrongly believed that Mulvaney’s video was a television commercial or that the can with her picture on it was available in stores," the WSJ noted.
The company has since attempted to make amends with its customers. Bud Light marketing vice president Alissa Heinerscheid and Daniel Blake, who oversees marketing for Anheuser-Busch’s mainstream brands, both took a leave of absence after the backlash, particularly after Heinerscheid was caught in an interview blasting the brand as previously being "fratty" with "out of touch humor."
The company has also attempted to contextualize the Mulvaney videos, explaining that a "third-party ad agency" was responsible for the collaboration with no intention to sell the can.
The company is also set to launch a line of camouflage aluminum bottles that promote the "Folds of Honor" program, which provides educational scholarships for families of fallen and disabled American military service members and first responders, the New York Post reported.
Many have argued the attempts to undo the damage from the Mulvaney marketing campaign will not undo the damage done to the brand.
Bud Light practically begging for customers with free beer as backlash shows no signs of drying up
By Lindsay Kornick , Alexa Moutevelis | Fox News
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Some Budweiser products are being sold for free in some stores thanks to a new promotional rebate from the Anheuser-Busch company, following weeks of Bud Light backlash.
Ahead of the Memorial Day weekend, Bud Light revealed a new promotion called the US Budweiser Family Memorial Day Rebate online for customers from eligible states. The rebate promises an amount "equivalent to the purchase price of one (1) 15-pack or larger, up to $15" of Bud Light, Budweiser, Budweiser Select or Budweiser Select 55 paid via Anheuser-Busch Digital Prepaid Mastercard. Based on recent prices for Bud Light products, however, in some cases this would be giving packs of beer away for free.
Online searches of local beer retailers find many offers under $15 for 15-packs or larger of these Budweiser products, making the products free after rebate, excluding sales tax or any state restrictions.
On Wednesday, a Nashua, New Hampshire, Shaw's Supermarket had 30-packs of Bud Light cans on sale for $19.99, down from $24.99, making the price about $5 after rebate.
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Social media users are also discussing their free or low cost beer finds at local shops, including one Twitter account that posted photos said to be "Displays seen in two different stores in Wisconsin, a state known for drinking a lot of beer." The images showed signs promoting 20-pack prices of $14.99 with the $15 rebate giving purchasers a final cost of $0.
The rebate applies to purchases made between May 17 and May 31, and forms must be submitted by June 14.
Anheuser-Busch did not respond to a request for comment on the rebate promotion.
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This significant reduction in prices via sales and rebates follow a severe backlash against Bud Light products as well as the Anheuser-Busch brand for partnering transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney. Mulvaney was featured in videos drinking a Bud Light can with the activist’s face in honor of the completion of "365 days of girlhood."
The videos kickstarted conservative efforts to boycott the product. Though Anheuser-Busch insisted that the can was not intended to be publicly sold, the outrage continued to affect sales. According to data from Bump Williams Consulting, sales for Bud Light were down by 23.6% compared to one year ago.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Anheuser-Busch will help wholesalers handle unsold merchandise.
"The brewer recently told its wholesalers that it would buy back unsold cases of beer that have gone past their expiration date," the WSJ reported.
Glass bottling plants forced to shut down, leaving 600 employees jobless amid Bud Light controversy
By Yael Halon | Fox News
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A glass bottling company impacted by Bud Light's botched promotion with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney will close down two of its locations, laying off more than 600 employees as the beer brand continues to grapple with staggering financial losses and declining sales.
The Ardagh Group, a global glass producer who contracts with the Anheuser-Busch company, announced that they will be closing their plants in North Carolina and Louisiana in July, putting roughly 645 employees out of a job, WRAL reported.
The bottling company did not reveal the reason for the move, but an investigation by WRAL reportedly found that the plants are shuttering because of tanking Bud Light sales, as retailers, distributors, bars and contracted companies feel the wrath of nationwide boycotts over the controversial Bud Light partnership that celebrated Mulvaney's "365 Days of Girlhood."
Workers at both bottling plants have reportedly noticed decreased production after Mulvaney's video announcing the collaboration on social media gained public attention in April, WRAL reported. A machine repair mechanic told the outlet that the drop in demand forced the Louisiana and North Carolina plants to put some of their machines offline, which he attributed to "the Bud Light situation."
In an internal Ardagh Group memo obtained by WRAL, executives said they planned to shut down the two plants "due to slow sales with Anheuser-InBev," Longtime employees told the outlet that they were not surprised by the move, considering that a large part of their business at those plants was producing bottles for Budweiser and Bud Light.
Employees at the Wilson, North Carolina plant reportedly said their manager confirmed to them that they were shuttering its doors because of the Bud Light boycott.
"'Because of Budweiser no longer selling the bottle, they no longer needed our product," David Williams, a machine repair mechanic, told WRAL.
Bud Light sales have slumped since the beermaker gifted Mulvaney special cans in April to celebrate a full year of "girlhood." A second video then featured Mulvaney in a bathtub drinking a Bud Light beer — prompting online outrage and nationwide boycotts that resulted in a sales decline that has yet to rebound.
The brand, which has already lost billions of dollars in market value, has taken several steps to alleviate the backlash, such as heavily discounting beer and offering rebates that make Bud Light "basically free to the consumers" in some markets. The beermaker has also taken steps to help distributors, increased its marketing budget, launched a new summer ad campaign, and dispatched CEO Brendan Whitworth to appear on "CBS Mornings" to provide clarity on the now-infamous debacle.
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But despite their best efforts, the backlash against the Bud Light brand seems to be lingering as sales of the beer continue to slide. Bud Light sales were down 24.4% compared to a year ago for the week ending June 3, NiselsenIQ data provided to FOX Business by Bump Williams Consulting showed. Modelo Especial passed Bud Light as the #1 Selling Beer Brand on a dollar basis for the four-week and single-week period ending June 3.
Mulvaney recently ripped the controversy against Bud Light, claiming it prompted more bullying and "more transphobia than I could’ve ever imagined." The trans influencer also blasted the company for not being supportive as Mulvaney dealt with the "transphobia."
