A million beers await drinkers as Europe's bars reopen
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[June 04, 2020] By
Philip Blenkinsop and Andreas Mortensen
BRUSSELS/
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - As bars
across Europe gradually reopen, up to a million free or pre-paid beers
are waiting to lure back wary consumers.
Beer makers from global giant Anheuser-Busch InBev <ABI.BR> to smaller
craft brewers have set up schemes for consumers to buy drinks in advance
to support shuttered bars with, in some cases, the reward of free beer
when the doors reopen.
AB InBev launched its first scheme "Cafe Courage" in Belgium and has
since sold over 200,000 Stella Artois, Jupiler and other brands. It also
started similar schemes in 20 other markets across Europe and from
Brazil to Hong Kong, raising over $6 million for pubs, bars and
restaurants.
World number two Heineken <HEIN.AS> put the number of drinks sold
through its various voucher schemes at 270,000.
Now the bars are opening, consumers have had their first chance to
redeem coupons or vouchers.
Danish friends Arendse Rohland and Thomas Hoffner Lovgren were among
those to profit from free beers after bars re-opened there on May 18.
Danish brewer Carlsberg <CARLb.CO> offered lagers in a bar to consumers
who bought bottles or cans from stores in its "Adopt a Keg" scheme. The
idea was to lure drinkers back with free drinks and hope that they would
then buy more. Hoffner Lovgren and Rohland both seemed willing to do so.
"I rarely only drink one beer," Roland said after collecting a free
drink at Carl's Ol & Spisehus in a Copenhagen suburb.
Drinkers elsewhere are now in line. France became the latest country on
Tuesday to allow bars and restaurants to operate after the Netherlands
on Monday. Ireland and Belgium are expected to follow later this month,
with Britain in July.
Julian Marsili, Carlsberg global brand director, said its campaign would
even continue into the summer.
"Travel will not be massive, at least outside Denmark, so we are
encouraging people who want to adopt kegs to explore Denmark further in
bars in the tourist places," he said.
The schemes have helped, but not made up the shortfall. In Britain, the
British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) said pubs could have recorded
their best April in a decade, selling 745 million pints in unseasonably
warm and sunny weather.
The issue is acute for brewers, with about a third of beer typically
consumed in pubs, bars or cafes. In value terms, that can rise to
60-65%, according to Pierre-Olivier Bergeron, secretary general of the
Brewers of Europe.
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A terrace is seen closed in central Brussels, as the country began
easing lockdown restrictions following the coronavirus disease
(COVID-19) outbreak in Belgium, June 4, 2020. REUTERS/Francois
Lenoir
Beer sales in stores have risen, but well below the rate of wine and spirits and
not enough to make up for the loss of on-premise drinking, according to U.S.
data from marketing research firm Nielsen.
WILL THEY COME?
Reopened bars and restaurants will clearly not operate as they did before the
coronavirus closures, with limited time at the bar or table service, shorter
hours and measures to minimise contact between staff and customers and to keep
customers apart.
Emma McClarkin, BBPA chief executive, said the social distancing gap made a big
difference. Two metres, currently used in Britain, might only allow only a third
of Britain's 47,000 pubs to reopen while a one-metre rule, deemed safe by the
World Health Organization, would allow 75% to operate, she said.
Brewers have also been helping with some of the new hardware involved and
learning from China, where restaurants and bars reopened from March.
Jan Craps, chief executive of Budweiser Brewing Co APAC, said the AB InBev Asian
subsidiary had sent "welcome kits" including hand sanitizer, gloves, masks and
advice to 50,000 bars and restaurants across China and 1,000 plastic screens to
help smaller venues separate groups of customers.
Craps said the kits were being replicated in many other countries, such as the
Americas where the brewer has its largest markets.
A study for the brewer of British pub-goers found 93% were keen to revisit their
local and over a third intend to visit within a week of reopening. A majority
also wanted to keep 2 metres away from strangers.
Business will not resume as before. Belgian cafe and restaurant owners expect on
average 45% fewer customers as a result of social distancing measures and
consumer wariness.
"It's not a back to normal situation... establishments now reopening will be
reopening under pretty special conditions," Bergeron said.
(Writing by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
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