IT MAY seem counterintuitive, but the proposed tough new rules on the sale of alcohol could play right into Anheuser-Busch InBev’s hands. For people who have been asleep in the past 12 months, AB InBev is what we in SA used to know as SABMiller — plus an awful lot more. The reality is, tougher regulations generally play into the hands of companies with a pre-existing market presence, particularly companies that have a dominant pre-existing market presence. Restrictions, particularly on advertising and sponsorship, will make it difficult for new players to enter the market or for smaller players to grow. In the beer market, it might just help to secure AB InBev’s 90%-plus market share. However, in the unlikely event the restrictions are implemented and effective they could limit AB InBev’s chances of growing the market. The threat of tougher laws on alcohol has been around for decades. So far, very little has come of it. This could be put down to SABMiller’s excellent ability to mana...
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