UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Thursday, September 5, 1996
5A
Breweries tap tough market
Anheuser-Busch promotion makes competition stiffer
By Liz Musser
Kansan staff writer
The beer market is getting tougher for the little guys.
FMI Brewing Co., a small brewery in Merriam, started distributing its Flying Monkey beers three months ago.
Things were going well until they learned last month that distributors in Lawrence and Wichita were no longer going to carry the beer.
Robert Eilert, co-owner of the brewery, said Anheuser-Busch was behind the move.
"Anheuser-Busch wants their distributors to purge themselves of all products but their own," Eilert said. "Now we're basically going to have to start over."
Anheuser-Busch, makers of Budweiser and Bud Light, began a promotion called 100 Percent Share of Mind that urges independent beer distributors to sell only Anheuser-Busch products.
A letter to FMI from Michael J. Brooks, vice president of sales at Anheuer-Busch, said the company did not use bullying tactics to enforce the promotion.
Eilert does not agree.
"There was obviously a certain amount of pressure," he said. "They may not have said anything outright, but something sent a message."
FMI had been distributing through a Lawrence Anheuser-Busch distributor, McDonald Beverage Inc., 801 E. Ninth St. It now uses Midwest Distributors Co. Inc., a Miller distributor in Kansas City, Kan.
Personnel at Anheuser-Busch and McDonald Beverage didn't return phone calls.
from White, vice president of Midwest Distributors, said he didn't understand the logic behind the promotion.
"We are a viable niche player. We know people will pay a little more for a specialty-made beer." Eilert said. "That is how we compete."
While 2 percent may seem small, the increase in production of specialty beers in 1995 was 51 percent, said Jim Parker, administrator at the Institute of Brewing Studies.
"Our goal is to make the customer happy, and I don't know one single supplier who can satisfy every customer's needs." White said.
Eilert said he did not understand why Anheuser-Busch was concerned
John Webb, owner of Webb's Fine Wine and Spirits, 800 W. 23rd St., said Anheuer-Busch could run a promotion like this because it was doing better than other companies.
about small breweries. The market share of craft-brewed beers in the United States in 1995 was 2 percent. Anheuser-Busch had 44 percent.
He also said he understood McDonald Beverage's decision to drop FMI
"Rather than hurt their relationship with Anheuser-Busch, they probably decided to just let someone else take Flying Monkey," he said.
Webb said he would carry Flying Monkey as long as people bought it.
Andy Tuttle, manager of Henry T's Bar and Grill, 3520 W. Sixth St., said the promotion would not affect most Lawrence bars because they use a variety of distributors.
Sally Thompson shares budget plan
Bv Neal Shulenburger
Kansan staff writer
State Treasurer and U.S. Senate candidate Sally Thompson presented her platform to 93 Lawrence residents yesterday.
Thompson's speech was part of a luncheon sponsored by the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce and Sally Mae, a student loan organization. Each member of the audience paid $10. Thompson, a Lawrence resident who has served as state treasurer since 1990, is running against Republican Pat Roberts for Nancy Kassbeam's Senate seat.
Thompson's speech focused on balancing the budget.
One group she mentioned was students. She said tax credits were needed to alleviate the high cost of
tuition.
While Thompson said that tax cuts were not possible for everyone if the budget was to be balanced, tax credits aimed at specific groups might be possible.
"It is an investment in the future," she said. "If the student is paying for tuition, it would make the money which he or she spent go a lot further. It would be like getting an extra
Sally Thompson
$1,500 a year for school. If parents are paying it, then the $1,500 would sometimes make the difference whether they can send their child to college or not. Now I'm not promising $1,500, but we are talking about a proposal that could be somewhere around that number."
She said it was possible to give some people a tax break and still balance the budget, but she disagreed with presidential candidate Bob Dole's plan for a flat tax rate.
"In the '80s we found out that the
interest rates go up when you make that kind of cut, and that means mortgage payments go up and new house payments go up," she said.
Barbara Ballard, a member of the Kansas House of Representatives and director of the Emily Taylor Women's Resource Center, said she was pleased with Thompson's speech.
"I think she addressed a lot of the pertinent issues that a lot of America was asked," Ballard said. "What she talked about she really seemed to have thought through. Her background is definitely a fiscal one, and it showed."
Forrest Swall, chairman of the Lawrence Democrats, agreed with Ballard's assessment.
Ballard said she was pleased with more than just Thompson's speech.
"I'm running for the Kansas legislature myself, so I don't endorse anyone," Ballard said. "But I will say I like her as a candidate. She'd do a good job in the Senate."
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES KU's Volunteer Headquarters The Center for Community Outreach
Invites you to an informational meeting:
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Kansas Union
English Room
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they'd probably be competing with you for a job.