E-Malt.com News article: USA: Progressive Grocer names Coors Brewing best in class for category Management in 2005

Coors Brewing Company announced on November 28 that has been named the recipient of this year's Best in Class for Category Management in beer by Progressive Grocer magazine. The announcement of this top honor is featured in the magazine's special November 15, 2005 "Category Captains" issue.

In selecting Coors for this prestigious award, editors of Progressive Grocer noted, that in the beer category, "Coors outdid themselves in 2005 by boosting sales at specific retail partners, while the overall category has faced tough times."

"We are focused on growing the beer category for our retail partners. During the past year, we've worked hard to deliver the right combination of consumer insights and retail expertise to create retail solutions that we call the GoldenStandard. This award from Progressive Grocer is a sign that we are heading in the right direction," said Gregg DeBoever, director of category management for Coors Brewing Company.

Coors earned the Category Captain award from Progressive Grocer last year for a trade-up shelf-flow initiative that aligned brands with similar consumer demographic profiles together to encourage trade-up. By challenging conventional wisdom and changing the typical brand flow, Coors helped retailers increase sales in the above premium and premium beer segments. Originally introduced in 2004, the trade-up shelf-flow continues to drive sales for retail partners.

DeBoever added, "Understanding the beer consumer is critical for establishing long-term category health. We have some of the best ethnic and general market consumer research available. We understand beer consumers, their lifestyles, their behaviors and how they shop. Using these valuable insights, we provide our retail partners with targeted recommendations and creative programming to help increase category sales."

Since rolling out the GoldenStandard, Coors has increased its category management partnerships by more than 250 percent.

This is the 10th year Progressive Grocer is recognizing leading companies whose innovation and commitment to category management set the pace for the supermarket industry through its Category Captains awards program. Coors also won the Category Captains award in 2004.

About Coors Brewing Company

Coors Brewing Company is a subsidiary of Molson Coors Brewing Company. It is the third largest brewer in the U.S. The company's U.S. brands include Coors Light, Molson Canadian, Coors, Aspen Edge, Killian's Irish Red, Keystone, Blue Moon, Coors NA and Zima XXX. For more information on Molson Coors, visit the company's Web site, http://www.molsoncoors.com .


30 November, 2005