Charles Wells advises its tenants not to stock Red Stripe even though it brews the lager
Brigid Moran of the Phoenix in Bedfordshire told the Publican’s Morning Advertiser that a letter that she received from Charles Wells stated that the lager will cost £60 more per barrel from 1 October, causing her to increase the price of a pint from £3.50 to £4.00. She currently pays £147 plus VAT per barrel of Red Stripe.
The lager is currently brewed by Charles Wells for UK distribution.
Moran said: “I don’t think my customers will pay that much, but I do think they will miss it.” She added that she is happy that Charles Wells is helping by providing an alternative premium lager to stock.
Peter Wells, managing director, said: “We’ve recommended that Charles Wells licensees switch from Red Stripe to an alternative premium lager as we believe the recent price increase imposed makes it extremely difficult to continue stocking it.
“Our prime concern is looking after our licensees best interests and helping them to run their business as successfully as possible and, whilst I understand that some drinkers will be disappointed, we’ll work with licensees to deliver an excellent range of beers to make sure their customers continue to have a great experience in their pub. We do regret, however, that Red Stripe is unlikely to be available to drink in most of our pubs.”
A spokeswoman for Diageo declined to comment on whether it has increased its core price for Red Stripe, but said: “Pricing decisions for Wells & Young sales of Red Stripe to their managed and leased estate in the Bedfordshire area are a matter exclusively for Wells and Young.”
A Charles Wells spokeswoman replied: “We do determine the final pricing structure for our customers but for brands provided by an external supplier, this is based on their core price. As we don’t have any managed sites in the UK, we cannot determine the retail price licensees sell to their consumers but we are constantly looking for the best options for our customers and, ultimately, have to react to what we believe the market will sustain.”
