Forum Archive Index - March 2001

["Jeff Smith" <jc.smith@waikato.ac.nz>]

Sharechatters.

Boy there's been a lot of publicity about the Monteith's Brewery closure. I
think DBG have made a big error with this.

NZ Breweries beat DB in the beer "regionalisation" that was so profitable to
NZB more than a decade ago. I think it's a myth that people will drink beer
purely for the taste ... as the success of regional branding has shown.

I believe that despite being a fine beer, Monteith's success is not due to
the quality of the product: rather the identity it has with the West Coast
and so forth.

DBG has dropped about 20 cents since their announcement and while that's not
big enough to qualify as any sort of correction, the market certainly hasn't
reacted favourably to the announcement. Time will tell, but I think DBG have
made a mistake and the negative reaction by drinkers won't be confined to
the West Coast. I live in the Waikato and know Monteiths drinkers here are
changing brands.

I attach an email that's done a big circulation already.

>To all,
>No doubt many of you have by now heard - and been thoroughly appalled - of
>Dominion Breweries' grandiose plan to shut down Monteiths Brewing Company
in
>Greymouth (effective yesterday - the 22nd March) in favour of moving all
>Monteiths brewing operations to that fantastic little backwater of
>integrity, Auckland.
>What was once one fabulous character-ridden West Coast icon has now gone
the
>way of the faceless corporate moguls after a buck with little thought of
the
>people involved (brewers AND drinkers both), or the traditions that have
>built New Zealand.
>It seems nowadays that Aucklanders and their companies regard the rest of
>New Zealand as merely a feeder towards their greater 'glory' (they alway
>have been fantastic sufferers of delusions of grandeur). After getting the
>West Coast to do all the hard work in developing a quality beer they are
>quite prepared now to tear that success out of New Zealands heartland and
>spirit it away to benefit an area that nowadays has very little resemblance
>to the real New Zealand at all.
>Monteiths Beers have become the victim of their own popularity with DB
>stating that it is no longer 'viable' to brew the beer on the coast as too
>much of the beer is being sold in the North Island.
>Now i'm no marketing mogul but it seems to me that the very popularity of
>the drink has been based in the fact that it is a boutique beer brewed on
>the coast the way it always has been. People like things to have identities
>nowadays that there is so little of it remaining in this OTT politically
>correct country.
>If DB wants to tear the guts out of this fabuolous traditional beer I
reckon
>we all take some sort of a stand and boycott all DB products. It's time we
>told these pratts that there are - believe it or not - greater ideals than
>money, BOYCOTT ALL DB PRODUCTS (INCLUDING, I'M SAD TO SAY NOW, MONTEITHS)
IN
>FAVOUR OF SHOWING THESE JAFFAS AND THEIR HENCHMEN THAT THE WE ARE SICK OF
>THEIR EVIL MACHINATIONS TOWARDS REAL NEW ZEALAND!!!!!!
>
>Please forward this email on to all in your mailing list CC it to DB at
>their 'contact us' address - brewery@dbgroup.co.nz. We'll see just what we
>can do!
>
>The Coaster

Any thoughts?

Happy trading,
Jeff




----------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.sharechat.co.nz/          New Zealand's home for market investors
http://www.netbroker.co.nz/        Trade on Credit, Low Brokerage. Join now.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
To remove yourself from this list, please use the form at
http://www.sharechat.co.nz/forum.shtml.