AB has sent letters out to their distribution network indicating that pricing will be going up in September.
After a soft July 4th weekend, and continuing a soft year with sales down about 1%, AB will be taking a price increase across the board on almost all packages and brands. The price increase will vary by market, package side and brand, but it looks like AB is trying to drive consumers back to smaller pack sizes and to core brands after AB sub-premium brands have been outpacing the core brands.
Draft will be taking the biggest percentage increase with a hike of $4.00 to as much as $6.00 a half barrel. Core brands will go up about 25-30 cents a case and sub-premium about a dollar.
This could bode well for craft brewers who may be able to take a small price hike in order to maintain the price difference between major brands and the good beer category. What do you think?