LONDON (Reuters) - MillerCoors, the second-largest brewer in the United States, sees beer sales growth slowing less rapidly in the downturn than wine and spirits and as the beermaker focuses on premium light and craft beers.
The brewer of Miller Lite and Coors Light expects the U.S. annual beer market growth to slow to 0.6 percent in 2009-2012 from 0.9 percent in 2004-2008, compared with a steeper fall in spirits growth to 1.1 percent from 2.7 percent.
MillerCoors President and Chief Commercial Officer Tom Long told a seminar in London on Tuesday the group's premium light beers Miller Lite, Coors Light and Miller Genuine Draft 64 had grown market share by 1 percent point over the last nine months, and its Blue Moon beer was now the leading craft beer in the U.S. market.
Some people say Peacenik only posts about doom and disaster. Here is some good news. Maybe Cramer is right. Maybe things have turned around. Cheers.
