Bud Light has lost over $400 million since it went woke by teaming up with the transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney for an a partnership back in April. Now, things have gotten even worse for the beer brand, as experts are warning that Bud Light will likely lose crucial shelf space in stores this fall.
This isn’t a parody. Dylan Mulvaney is now the face of Bud Light. pic.twitter.com/cpygA74cG5
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) April 2, 2023
Bud Light In Big Trouble
“During a busy shopping period on a Friday or Saturday night, if you don’t have the beer available cold on the shelf, consumers pick something else,” former Anheuser-Busch InBev executive Anson Frericks told ABC News. He added that shelf space is “the single largest determinant of sales in a store.”
“There will be a dramatic shift,” Frericks continued.
Dave Williams, vice president of analytics and insights at Bump Williams Consulting, explained that retailers watch sales to see which brands should get the best shelf space.
“There’s explosive growth on one side and sharp decline on the other,” Williams stated. “This does have that ripple effect where if Bud Light loses space on the shelf, that could make it a longer-term endeavor to claw back to where they were if they’re ever able to do that in the first place. You’ve got to be on the shelf first to be selling.”
Stopped by WOKE Target to see their Bud Light stock.
I figured since they’re a woke store, they’d have a HUGE display.
Looks like they’ve basically lost all their shelf space.
Anyone who knows merchandising knows shelf space is very important to any product.
This means the… pic.twitter.com/hX5LZMijEU
— Joey Mannarino (@JoeyMannarinoUS) June 17, 2023
‘The Boycott Has Lasted Longer Than Anybody Thought’
Carlos Laboy, a beverage industry analyst for HSBC, claimed that Bud Light’s parent company Anheuser-Busch has seen revenue decline by at least 33%. This has led wholesalers to cut back services and frequency of visits to retailers, which will only further hurt Bud Light’s sales.
“Expect more wholesaler cutbacks now,” he added.
A general manager at an Anheuser-Busch distributor in Wisconsin who did not wish to be named admitted that the shelf resets at retailers “could be an issue,” however, he went on to allege that they are not expecting a “drastic change.”
“The boycott has lasted longer than anybody thought,” the general manager said. “Every retailer has their own opinion for what sales warrant on their shelves. Time will tell.”
Bud Light Losing Shelf Space At Major Retailers Like Walmart And 7-Eleven
Bud Light’s sales have been crumbling for months because of the fallout from their disastrous partnership with Dylan Mulvaney.
The annual reset of shelf space is coming in the fall at major retailers,… pic.twitter.com/NY4okknFss
— Dēmiurgòs (@DemiurgosCaen) September 17, 2023
Mulvaney Debacle
This all started back in April, when Mulvaney revealed that Bud Light had sent her packs of Bud Light featuring the influencer’s face as a way to celebrate a full year of “girlhood.” Mulvaney went so far as to describe the beer cans as her “most prized possession” on Instagram with a post that featured the hashtag “#budlightpartner.”
This immediately backfired on Bud Light when conservatives launched a boycott of the beer brand that proved to be highly effective. Bud Light’s parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev reported that profits plummeted after the boycott, with U.S. revenue dropping 10.5% in the second quarter as earnings before taxes, interest and depreciation declined by 28.2%.
“These things are fluid,” said Gerald Pascarelli, a beer industry analyst at Wedbush. “It depends on where consumer preference is and what trends are. They will change.”
Bud Light Risks Losing Retail Shelf Space if They’re Unable to Reverse Plunging Sales.
How? Apologize, fire those responsible and rebuild the connection with the 98%. pic.twitter.com/uNskkKuPcH
— Mark Nantz (@BullseyeBanjo) June 6, 2023
Related: Dylan Mulvaney ‘Feels Guilty’ Over Bud Light Backlash – ‘Wakeup Call’
‘The Bud Light Situation Has Actually Gotten Worse’
Beer Business Daily publisher Harry Schuhmacher told Fox News last week that things are only looking more bleak for Bud Light moving forward.
“The Bud Light situation has actually gotten worse,” he said. “You see Bud Light still just stubbornly down around 30% in volume compared to last year, which is where it’s been since May or June. That tells me that this is quasi-permanent, meaning those consumers are just lost forever.”
Coors Light is decimating Bud Light sales at Raleys in Central Valley California. They expanded Coors space and can’t keep it on the shelf. Men are embarrassed to buy Bud Light #BudLight #Budweiser #Woke pic.twitter.com/RVnhfpUtgD
— Knight Ronin (@PhilipH27605846) May 2, 2023
It’s safe to say that both Mulvaney and Bud Light have learned the hard way that “go woke, go broke” is very real indeed. Other brands should take notice and think twice before going woke and teaming up with someone like Mulvaney in the future!
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