Carib and Stag scarce, say bar owners

The ongoing strike at Carib Brewery has some club and bar owners seeing red since they are not receiving their usual supply of Carib and Stag beer. As such, competing brands like Heineken and Samba are reaping the benefits of the strike, since these establishments have upped their demand for these brands. Johnny Soong, owner of Club Coconuts in St Ann’s, told Newsday yesterday that the club is being badly affected by the strike, since deliveries of Carib and Stag are not being made. At present, he said, the club was getting 40 percent of the quota it normally receives from the brewery. Consequently, it has increased its orders for Heineken beer. The club carries most of the leading brands of beer, with Stag being the most popular, he said.

He revealed that despite the strike action, customers were still asking for Carib and Stag. He said, “It is not like it is off the market, so people are still asking for it, but at some time at nights or during the week, we run out of Carib and Stag.” In South Trinidad, the owners of Club Monty’s Sports Bar have been forced to visit other bars and even supermarkets to buy cases of Carib beer, according to manager, Michelle Rampersad. They too have increased their order of Heineken beer, moving it up from the normal order of five cases to as much as 20 cases. They have also had to resort to selling Carib beer in cans, which Rampersad revealed, were not highly popular among the clientele. Before the strike, the bar would generally purchase 40 cases of Carib and 40 cases of Stag per week. “Customers are not too keen on it because they feel like children drinking out of a can,” she said. “But when there is nothing else, they have to drink it.”

Sales and marketing manager at Samba Brewery Ltd, Hayden Along, explained that while the strike action at their competitor’s brewery has significantly increased their market share, the company’s decision to revise its marketing strategy and streamline its strategic business units had helped to enhance its competitiveness both on the local as well as the regional and international markets. He said, “Before the strike we had revised our marketing strategy and were seeing increased sales. With the strike we have the added opportunity to grab more market share. However, we have been doing so before and will continue to do so even after the strike.”