Carlsberg UK boss Sheps moves to Russia

By Mark Wingettt, M&C Report

- Last updated on GMT

Related tags Carlsberg uk Tetley's brewery Carlsberg

Sheps: credited with rejuvenating Carlsberg in the UK
Sheps: credited with rejuvenating Carlsberg in the UK
The chief executive of Carlsberg UK Dr Isaac Sheps is to move to a new job within the company at the start of December.

Sheps will replace Anton Artemiev as head of Baltika Breweries, the business that Carlsberg took control of after its takeover of Scottish & Newcastle in 2008 — he will also take charge of Carlsberg’s business across Eastern Europe.

The change of personnel, which will come into force on December 1, follows a cut by Carlsberg in growth forecasts in Russia with second-quarter profits missing forecasts.

“The Russian market, due to the financial crisis and steep tax hikes, has not developed the way we had expected when we bought out Scottish & Newcastle,” said Jorgen Buhl Rasmussen, Carlsberg’s chief executive.

Carlsberg said that a replacement for Sheps in the UK will be announced shortly.

PMA comment by group editor The PMA Team

Isaac Sheps arrived at Carlsberg UK in October 2008 in what was referred to at the company’s headquarters in Copenhagen as “mission impossible” — the company was concerned that it did not have a sustainable position in this country with its fiercely competitive beer market.

Carlsberg was particularly concerned about its position in the on-trade where there was perception within the marketplace that it had lost interest.

Sheps even commissioned a video featuring Rasmussen in which the Carlsberg boss re-assured on-trade customers that it was committed to the UK — it’s actually the biggest market in the world for Carlsberg accounting for a surprising 40% of total global volume. There followed some good contract wins in the UK, including JD Wetherspoon.

On-trade market share is now above 10% — it was 9% and below when Sheps arrived. And the latest data shows that Carlsberg actually moved from fourth position to third position just recently in the on-trade, with only Molson Coors and Heineken UK ahead of it.

Sheps tenure at Carlsberg UK, which has an annual turnover of around £800m, isn’t universally popular.

A Cleckheaton pub landlord e-mailed me last night to accuse Sheps of destroying Tetley bitter thanks to the decision to brew under contract in Wolverhampton after the closure of the Leeds brewery.

Steve Hey, of the Wickham Arms, said: “The head brewer has tried his utmost to achieve a ‘Wolverhampton formula’ but Tetleys is a notoriously poor traveller especially in hot weather, which is resulting in inconsistent ale and, I’m afraid, driving more and more customers into the welcoming arms of the newer northern breweries.”

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