I hope Corona makes inroads. It’s the default beer of choice for just about everyone I know. It’s not like they’d have to change their advertising…
“Grupo Modelo SAB, Mexico’s largest beermaker, may begin in about a year exports of Corona to Brazil, Latin America’s biggest beer market that’s dominated by Modelo’s partner, Anheuser-Busch InBev NV. Modelo is seeking an “established channel” to sell Corona in Brazil, where there are few imports and the company has tried three times to penetrate, said Jose Pares, Modelo’s chief sales and marketing officer.
“We’re doing the analysis, and the idea is in the short term to enter Brazil,” Pares said in an interview on Nov. 5.
Brazil is the third-largest beer market behind China and the U.S., with a growth rate that exceeded both in 2009, Modelo Chief Executive Officer Carlos Fernandez said in a Nov. 5 presentation at the company’s new factory near the border city of Piedras Negras, Mexico. Brazil’s beer market has the second- highest operating margin behind the U.S., he said.
In earlier attempts, Modelo grappled with taxes, tariffs and other obstacles, Pares said. The brand has good acceptance and is imported informally by consumers, he said.
“Now, we see a more favorable environment for the possible development of our market there,” he said without specifying. “That’s why we’re doing an analysis of an established channel through which to develop the brand.”
InBev became owner of a non-controlling 50 percent stake in Modelo after the $52 billion purchase of Anheuser-Busch Cos. in 2008. Modelo tried to block AB InBev from becoming its partner in a failed arbitration proceeding. AB InBev’s local unit, Cia de Bebidas das Americas, has a 71 percent share of the Brazilian beer market, the company said in an e-mail.
Modelo, which is based in Mexico City, exports six of its 13 brands, including Modelo Especial, Negra Modelo and Pacifico, to 167 countries and is the largest importer into the U.S.” – Bloomberg
Eyes On Brazil 