Heineken has been the biggest loser in Russia following the Government’s decision to triple excise tax on beer, but its market share stabilised in the third quarter. What about the rest?

All figures are based on Nielsen data and were published this week by Carlsberg, the owner of market leader Baltika Breweries. Figures are based on volume sales following the third quarter of 2010.

  • Baltika Breweries slipped from a 39.7% share of the market in the third quarter of 2009 to a 39% share in the third quarter of 2010. However, Baltika’s share has improved sequentially from 38.4% in the first quarter of 2010. 
  • Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Sun InBev business has remained the clear number two on the market, holding its third quarter share level with last year, at 16%.
  • Heineken has struggled in 2010, something the group partly blames on its decision to increase prices more quickly and steeply than its rivals following January’s tax hike. Heineken’s share in the third quarter was 11.1%, down from 13.4% in the same period of 2009. However, its share has stabilised at around 11% in the last six months, which suggests that the group has stopped the rot.
  • Anadolu Efes has come close to overtaking Heineken to be the number three player on the market. Efes increased its market share to 10.6% in the third quarter, versus 9.7% a year earlier.
  • SABMiller has been the most consistent brewer, at or around 6.8% in each quarter over the last 12 months. This may be due to the firm’s strong presence in premium beer, which could have insulated it from the tax increase.
  • By far the biggest winners in the last year have been the smaller-scale beer brands. The so-called ‘others’ category has increased its share of the beer sector to 16.5%, from 14.4% in the third quarter of 2009. However, this has fallen back from a high of 16.8% earlier in the year.

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