Did Interbrew offer high-quality, cost-efficient, globally standardized Stella Artois in a global market?Case 9.1 Getting rid of the nickname

‘Interwho’?: Launching Stella Artois as the global brand at InBev (formerly Interbrew)14 Belgium-based InBev, the world’s number one brewer, was formed in 2004 through a complex merger arrangement between Interbrew of Belgium and Companhia de Bebidas das Américas (AmBev) of Brazil.

Interbrew (we use ‘Interbrew’ rather than ‘InBev’, as most business activities discussed in this case happened during the Interbrew period) traces its origins to a brewery called Den Horen, established in 1366 in Leuven, Belgium. In 1717, the brewery changed its name to Artois when it was acquired by Sebastien Artois, its master brewer. In 1987, Brasseries Artois, then the second largest brewer in Belgium, and Brasseries Piedboeuf, then the largest brewer in Belgium, merged to create Interbrew. In 1988, Interbrew was the 17th largest brewer in the world.15 Before the 1987 merger, both Brasseries Artois and Brasseries Piedboeuf had expanded through acquisitions. Brasseries Artois acquired the Leffe brand in 1952, the Dommelsch Brewery in the Netherlands in 1968 and the Brasseries Motte Cordonier in France in 1970. Similarly, Brasseries Piedboeuf purchased the Lamot brewery in Belgium in 1984.

Interbrew continued with this acquisition strategy. It acquired Belgian brewers Hoegaarden in 1989 and Belle-Vue in 1990. In the early 1990s, Interbrew expanded extremely rapidly, pursuing more than 30 acquisitions and strategic joint ventures throughout the world. Examples of such acquisitions included Labatt in Canada in 1995, SUN Interbrew in Russia and Ukraine in 1996, Oriental Breweries in South Korea in 1999, and Diebels and Beck &

Co. in Germany in 2001. More recent acquisitions included the Malaysian Lion Group in China and the Apatin Brewery in Serbia.