Blitz-Weinhard cuts prices by 15 percent
PORTLAND (AP) - Blitz
Weinhard Co has dropped the
price of its Blitz beer by 15 per
cent in an effort to regain sales
lost because of Oregon's
recession and changing beer
drinking trends, the company
announced Tuesday
"Because of the recession
here, the marketplace has gone
to lower-priced beers," said
Fred Wessinger, president of
the Portland-based brewery
"We are positioning our
selves right back into the place
where we used to be," he said
about the reduction that has put
a $2 19 price tag on Blitz in the
supermarket, compared to the
$2 49 price before Feb 1
Blitz used to be the best
selling suds in Oregon In
1971-73, 31 5 percent of beer
sold in the state carried the Blitz
label, said Gene Clark, advertis
ing director
Consumption has steadily
declined since that peak to an 8
percent to 10 percent share of
beer sales last year in Oregon,
which places Blitz "somewhere
around fifth or seventh place,”
Clark said
Wessinger said the price
reduction is expected to boost
sales by 25 percent
Although distribution is
concentrated in Oregon and
southwestern Washington, the
company also sells its flagship
brand in Idaho and California
Clark said generic or plain
label brews have taken some of
Blitz’s business, as have
"premium-priced'' brands, such
as Budweiser and Miller, and
the "super-premiums,” such as
Michelob and Blitz's own Henry
Weinhard's Private Reserve
But most of Blitz's sales
have been taken by the new
light or low-calorie brews and
other regional beers such as the
Olympia Brewing Co s Hamms,
and Rainier Brewing Co s
Rainier and Heidelberg brands
He sard the price change
puts Blitz back in competition
with those brands, and leaves
the Olympia brand at the top of
the price list in the "popular
priced” or “regional” beer ca
tegory
"Consumers are more
price-conscious than they have
been They are looking for good
value for their money.” Clark
said "We may be looking here
at a resurgence of the old Wes
tern beers — that price structure
and the way it used to be In a
way, we re getting back to
regionalized preference ”
In addition to Henry
Weinhard’s Private Reserve and
Blitz, the brewery that Wes
singer’s great grandfather,
Henry Weinhard, started in 1856
also makes the Olde English
800, a malt liquor, and the
"economy-priced" Bohemian
Club
The brewery also produces
all Pabst Brewing Co products
for the West Coast and for ex
port to Asia Pabst bought Blitz
Weinhard in 1979. but the Port
land brewery is still locally run
by Wessinger and his brother,
William.
Clark said a new advertis
ing campaign for Blitz is being
planned, but it will not focus on
the price reduction
"The campaign will ba
sically associate Blitz with the
state of Oregon,” Clark said,
"which is basically what we
have been doing for the last 10
years anyway.”
Wessinger said the com
pany that employs 300 has not
been forced to lay off anyone,
and that the price-reduction
move is expected to boost sales
and employment.
Until Blitz’s hoped-for in
creased sales roll in, Wessinger
said the slack is being made up
in revenues from the brewery’s
hottest seller, Henry’s
"When we rolled Henry
Weinhard's out, we used Blitz
funds," he said "Now that
Henry’s stands on its own, the
situation has turned around.”
The Wessingers are very
proud of Henry’s, which, after a
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humble beginning in 1977, ac
counted for 60 percent of the
brewery’s production in 1981.
The brew is estimated to ac
count for 70 percent of Blitz
production this year.
Despite the Blitz losses, the
brewery’s sales have increased
markedly because of its higher
priced Henry Weinhard's, Clark
said Sales of Henry’s rose 33
percent last year, and already
account for 50 percent of the
super-premium beer sales in
Oregon and in the Seattle area
The company will begin
test-marketing Henry's in Aus
tin, Texas, next week, and if
successful, a marketing effort is
planned for Dallas, Wessinger
said In addition to Oregon and
Washington, Henry Weinhard’s
is sold in California, Idaho,
Colorado, Arizona and New
Mexico
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