Keep your hands off my Bud!

What happens when globalization hits too close to home?

You can take the girl out of her hometown, but you can’t take the hometown out of the girl.  This girl’s hometown happens to belong to The King of Beers- Budweiser!  Anheuser Busch owns St. Louis and St. Louisans are happy and loyal subjects to their King.

St. Louis is also a huge sports town, which is a perfect match since beer drinking is, after all, the number one spectator sport!  At Ballparks across North America, vendors can be heard singing, “Get your Ice Cold Bud here”,  as they serve thirsty sports fans, but in St. Louis it goes a step further.   Until recently, Anheuser Busch owned both the Stadium and the entire St. Louis Cardinal’s Baseball Team!

Anheuser Busch is the largest American Brewery with 50% market share.  AB´s Global headquarters are based in St. Louis alongside a beautiful red brick brewery that is a National Landmark. AB employs thousands in St. Louis and is very active and generous in the community.  So recent rumors of an imminent takeover bid of AB by Belgium Brewer’s InBev has the entire city of St. Louis (and me) in a panic mode.  The Busch family is trying their best to defend the beer legacy that was the nation´s first beer brand, launched in 1876. But considering ABI´s stagnent stock price in recent years and the weak dollar, the takeover target is irresistable. I can imagine other family run yet publicly traded corporations scrambling to buy back shares to regain more control of their own dynasties

Last year, St. Louis was voted by Fast Company magazine as one of the 3 cities in the entire world going no where fast and even though it competes every year with Detroit for the top spot on the murder capital list, it is not such a bad place.  In recent years, St. Louis has experienced the downside of corporate mergers(takeovers).  Many jobs were lost last year when the May Comapny, the large department store chain was acquired (swallowed up) by Macy’s.

St. Louis still grieves the loss of TWA, the airline that now only exists on vintage travel posters.  TWA  was bought by American Airlines and soon after, the St. Louis hub vanished.  We feel the pain, every time we want to fly home from Amsterdam and are routed through NYC, Memphis or Detroit.   It is really a stretch to continue to call Lambert an International Airport.

I have lived in Belgium and admit that a few of InBev’s Brands are among my favorites (Leffe and Hoegaarden). In fact, it is always an adjustment to switch back to Bud Light while visiting St. Louis, but would never refuse one!  Please InBev, I like your other brands, but don´t turn AB into just another brand.

So please InBev, (unless you plan to make a long term commitment to keep AB Headquarters in St. Louis and fly there so often that it becomes a thriving international hub again), please keep your hands off my Bud!

Tagged as: Acquisitions, Anheuser Busch, Bud, Bud Light, Globalization, Mergers, St. Louis Cardinals, Takeover