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just-drinks.com editor's weekly highlights | |
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Variety is in our nature. Discover the world of South African wine at Cape Wine 2008. From 23-25 September the whole industry is exhibiting in the Cape Town International Convention Centre. Cutting edge seminars and fabulous winery events, as well as the Nederburg and Cape Winemakers Guild Auctions.
Just over two weeks since InBev made its offer to Anheuser-Busch, the US brewer last week finally nailed its colours to the mast. A-B's board rejected the bid, deeming it “financially inadequate”. Just before retreating to its cave and (analogy conflict alert) preparing to rally its troops, the Belgium-based company fired a warning shot across A-B's bows (I'm on fire today), in filing a suit to see how feasible A-B shareholders could find it to vote off A-B's board. When we spoke to InBev at the end of the week, their response was measured, to put it mildly. In “considering A-B's reaction”, InBev will probably need to dig a bit deeper into the coffers. The likelihood of this turning ugly is slim – the two already work together in three markets, and I reckon all that is really needed is for the price to be right, and everyone to claim that they've won at the end of the day. Elsewhere, we had a scoop on just-drinks last week, when the CEO of Maxxium called time on his tenure. Something had been afoot at the marketing and distribution joint venture for a few weeks, I'm told, and this latest move - following both Remy Cointreau's and V&S's decisions to quit the alliance – suggests that the rollercoaster ride goes on. The future of this company is a little more difficult to predict, but, put simply, new partners need to be found, or it could be curtains. Hot Topic-wise, we took a closer look at the failure of UK pubs to exploit the potential of the plethora of soft drinks brands who want a slice of the “I don't smoke and I don't want to drink irresponsibly” pie. We also met with Bruce Jack, who has been charged by Constellation with reinvigorating the public image of the South African wine industry. Until next time... Olly Wehring, Managing Editor Web: www.just-drinks.com
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BREAKING NEWS: Maxxium chief quits [MEM] The CEO of Maxxium Worldwide has announced his intention to quit the marketing and distribution company, just-drinks can exclusively reveal.
Hard discounter strategies and major players in the UK In 2000, retail market researchers at Verdict called them ‘Continental discounters’, while they are known in the UK as the discount grocers. Whatever their nickname, the likes of Aldi, Lidl and Netto are all renowned for their low prices, which has generated plenty of support around the world. Hard discounters in the UK have had it tougher than in their country of origin – Germany – and many other parts of Europe where the format was quickly received and accepted into the mass grocery retail (MGR) sector. This month's briefing takes a look at the major players and reviews the latest sales data and expansion plans from Aldi, Lidl and Netto. The briefing highlights best-practise strategies that these players are taking in order to increase market share. Adopting strategies such as private-lable NPD, building on economic concerns and becoming more fashionable will ensure the discounters are here to stay for now.
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June 30, 2008 
