Canadian Beer Wars

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Canadian Beer Wars Brewers Drunk on Market Share

• Strategic Game Theory

2
Introduction

• Canadian Beer market controlled by 2 large
  companies, Labatt Molson and their 2 flag
  brands, Blue Canadian
• Brewers together controlled 95 of the market.
• Market peaked in early 80s, then people started
  switching to other products.
• Could not win business from each other, and so
  started differentiating.

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Introduction of New Player

• In 1992, Sleeman Breweries entered the market.
• Canadian premium brewer.
• Slowly started to take market share from Labatt
  and Molson.
• Large Brewers were still too focused on each
  other.
• By 2000, Sleeman had almost 10 of the market.

4
Change of the Playing Field

• Labatt bought out by InterBrew
• Molson merges with Coors
• Deregulation of Beer market in parts of Canada.
• Companies begin to engage in a price war.
• Price of beer has fallen in Canada, great for
  consumers, but bad for the companies.

5
Any Questions?

• Sean Coristine