Strongbow will go head to head with lager brands this Christmas as its price drops to £9.99 for a 24-pack. The move is designed to help the cider make gains in volume and maintain prominence in the fixture.
Bulmers, which owns the category leading brand, denies the decision is in response to its ongoing financial saga which this week resulted in the company's fifth profit warning in a year.
A financial review, launched after Bulmers discovered a £3.8m hole in its accounts, has uncovered £41.2m of exceptional costs. A spokesman for the company said its main aim was reducing a "huge bank loan" but denied speculation that this could lead creditors to force it into receivership.
He said: "We have had talks with our bankers and we are reviewing the options which include the disposal of assets." He added that Bulmers was taking the discounting route to ensure it "at least makes some profit". "We have no option, we have to be on a price par with lager brands. But we are not selling cider for nil profit," he claimed.
Despite the financial uncertainties, buyers remain committed to stocking Bulmers' brands. Safeway's category buyer for lager and cider, Richard Barnes, said: "They still have a strong business in the UK and we can't disadvantage consumers because a supplier is in trouble."
But he warned that discounting and "percentage-free" offers were putting the category at risk. "There are so many bogofs and suppliers are chasing volume. It's just becoming tit for tat between the main suppliers. I hope cider will become less of a commodity product."
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Bulmers, which owns the category leading brand, denies the decision is in response to its ongoing financial saga which this week resulted in the company's fifth profit warning in a year.
A financial review, launched after Bulmers discovered a £3.8m hole in its accounts, has uncovered £41.2m of exceptional costs. A spokesman for the company said its main aim was reducing a "huge bank loan" but denied speculation that this could lead creditors to force it into receivership.
He said: "We have had talks with our bankers and we are reviewing the options which include the disposal of assets." He added that Bulmers was taking the discounting route to ensure it "at least makes some profit". "We have no option, we have to be on a price par with lager brands. But we are not selling cider for nil profit," he claimed.
Despite the financial uncertainties, buyers remain committed to stocking Bulmers' brands. Safeway's category buyer for lager and cider, Richard Barnes, said: "They still have a strong business in the UK and we can't disadvantage consumers because a supplier is in trouble."
But he warned that discounting and "percentage-free" offers were putting the category at risk. "There are so many bogofs and suppliers are chasing volume. It's just becoming tit for tat between the main suppliers. I hope cider will become less of a commodity product."
{{MARKETING }}
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