Realbeer.com
 

News

Guinness sales drop

3-4% decline first for stout in 241 years

Aug 22, 2000 - Guinness beer sales apparently fell in 1999, the first decline in the 241 years since Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000-year lease on the famous Dublin, Ireland, brewery.

ADVERTISEMENT

Diageo, which owns the Guinness brand, is expected to report a drop of 3-4% next month. Analysts indicate that even though Guinness spends £200m a year on marketing that it is fighting a change in drinking habits among those in its home markets of Britain and Ireland.

A recent survey of landlords in Britain showed a 6% drop in the number who rated Guinness as one of the products they want to stock.

Lorna Harrison, editor of the trade magazine Publican, said: "There has been an explosion in the choice of beers available to drinkers, particularly with premium lagers and pre-prepared cocktails. This is accompanied by the fact that women are the growth area and they don't want to drink something like stout. It all adds up to a hard time for Guinness."


Search The Real Beer Library For More Articles Related To: IRELAND, Guinness