Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has asked officials to review Bud Light owner Anheuser-Busch, alleging that the company’s controversial actions, which led to a nationwide boycott, have resulted in potential losses to the state pension fund.
Citing media reports, the letter pointed out that Bud Light has “lost its top spot in the U.S. beer market” and saw a 28 percent decrease in revenue sales in the four weeks ending July 1. In addition, the “politicization” of the Bud Light brand is “dragging down the value of other beverages” under Anheuser-Busch.
As sales of Anheuser-Busch brands “precipitously decline” in the United States, retail chains like Costco may be pulling Bud Light off its shelves, the letter said.
“Clearly, the board’s mismanagement—as well as its failure to remediate the problem and repair its relationship with millions of disaffected American consumers—has led to this impasse and will continue to financially harm the SBA and other shareholders,” Mr. DeSantis said in the letter.
“We must prudently manage the funds of Florida’s hardworking law enforcement officers, teachers, firefighters, and first responders in a manner that focuses on growing returns, not subsidizing an ideological agenda through woke virtue signaling.”
Mr. DeSantis asked the SBA head to conduct a review of how Anheuser-Busch’s conduct may have impacted and continue to impact the value of SBA’s stake in the firm. He suggested that Anheuser-Busch may have violated the “legal duties owed to its shareholders” and that action from shareholders would be necessary to deal with the matter.
Pension Fund Investment in Anheuser-Busch
Florida’s pension fund held over 682,000 shares of Anheuser-Busch by the end of March, which was valued at $46 million at the time, according to data from CNN.On March 31, Anheuser-Busch stock was valued at $66.73, which came down to $58.73 as of July 20, a decline of close to 12 percent. As such, the Florida pension fund’s $46 million investment could have suffered losses of around $5.52 million.
“Because at the end of the day, there’s gotta be penalties for when you put business aside to focus on your social agenda at the expense of hardworking people.”
Bud Light’s Falling Sales and Mulvaney’s ‘Attractiveness’
Bud Light’s sales have been affected ever since Anheuser-Busch decided to hire transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney for a promotional campaign in April, which triggered concerns that the company was pushing a transgender agenda on American people. Boycott calls soon followed, and sales fell.A recent poll by YouGov had also shown that Bud Light suffered a massive drop in popularity. Bud Light was ranked 15th in the list of the most popular beers in the United States during the second quarter of 2023, down from its ninth position in the second quarter last year.
Data from Union, a Texas-based company that makes software for logging orders in the hospitality industry, shows that Bud Light is seeing lower demand and popularity in bars and restaurants throughout America.
In the second quarter of 2022, Bud Light was ranked No. 1. In the first week of the Bud Light boycott in April, “sales of what was once America’s best-selling beer dropped 2.6 points,” a sales spiral that continued throughout the recent quarter, according to a report from Union.
Amid the massive negativity surrounding Bud Light, Anheuser-Busch clinched a relief recently when the Beer Institute’s Code Compliance Review Board (CCRB) ruled that the company didn’t violate its marketing code for partnering with Mr. Mulvaney. Beer Institute is a national trade association that represents companies from the industry.
However, one member of the board, Paul Summers, dissented from the opinion and insisted that Bud Light had violated the marketing code.
“Mulvaney appeals to persons below the legal drinking age with a ‘special attractiveness.’ Mulvaney is especially attractive to young teens and girls; is often recognized as preadolescent; and caters to very young people. [Anheuser-Busch] knew all this, or the company’s leadership should have known.”
“If a company sends a social media influencer a beer with his/her picture on the can, one can expect that the recipient will act on it. That is common sense. It is rational thinking of an adult. If [Anheuser-Busch] had sent Mulvaney a beer can while the latter’s persona was that of a 51-year-old woman, then there probably would be no violation,” Mr. Summers argued.
