Case Analysis
Based in St. Louis, Missouri, Anheuser-Busch is the leading American brewer. The company is one of the largest theme park operators in the United States, a major manufacturer of aluminum cans and one of the world’s largest recyclers of aluminum cans. Our diverse background also includes malt production, rice milling, real estate development, turf farming, label printing and transportation services.
Anheuser-Busch is best known for the world’s two top-selling beers, Bud Light and our flagship brand Budweiser. Operating 12 breweries within and 15 breweries outside of the United States, Anheuser-Busch brews more than 40 varieties of beer and alcohol beverages.
In 2006, net sales at Anheuser-Busch totaled $15.7 billion, an increase of 4.5 percent over 2005. Our global team of employees numbered approximately 30,000 at year-end 2006, and the company’s worldwide beer production reached 125.0 million barrels compared with 121.9 million barrels in 2005. We are a publicly traded company (NYSE ticker symbol BUD).
Anheuser-Busch continues to be recognized as an industry leader. In the last year, our company has topped the list in three different industry ranking indices. In 2007, Anheuser-Busch was crowned the No. 1 Beverage Company in the U.S, for the fourth consecutive year, in FORTUNE magazine 's rankings of “America 's Most Admired Companies." We ranked first in our industry for each of the eight categories FORTUNE considered: quality of products and services, employee talent, quality of management, innovation, social responsibility, financial soundness, long-term investment and use of corporate assets.
Anheuser-Busch also earned the 2006 SPARC (Supplier Performance Awards by Retail Category) “Best in Class” Award in the alcohol beverage category. This honor is awarded based on a poll, conducted by Retailing Today, of key merchandising executives among the top 150 companies in the $1.5 trillion U.S. retailing industry. Selection
Cited: Deresky, Helen. (2008). International Management: Managing Across Borders and Cultures