Beer bottle hoarding gets San Miguel a fat fine

Judge Alice C. Gutierrez of the Marikina Regional Trial Court (formerly of Pasig City) Branch 263 ordered San Miguel (SMC) to pay its rival, Asia Brewery (ABI), for hoarding and removing bottles, crates and other items from circulation illegally.

“By withdrawing the ABI bottles from circulation, SMC effectively disrupted ABI’s marketing and distribution system and deprived it of the profits it could have gained if it [was] able to re-use the bottles and shells in the normal course of trade,”​ said Gutierrez.

San Miguel will reportedly appeal the ruling.

According to the Manila Times, over 1.6 million bottles were found during raids on San Miguel’s three warehouses in 1997. The bottles included ABI’s Beer na Beer, Budweiser, Carslberg, Manila Beer, Lone Star, and Colt 45.

San Miguel’s defence claimed that ABI’s bottles were kept due to accidental similarities between’s ABI’s Beer na Beer and San Miguel’s Pale Pilsen. However, Judge Gutierrez stated that bottles like Carlsberg, Stag, Budweiser and Colt 45 bore no resemblance to Pale Pilsen and were also found in San Miguel’s possession.

"The court is convinced that plaintiff [ABI], through its witnesses and documentary evidence, was able to establish that defendant [SMC had] engaged in systematic schemes to pull out the beer products from stores and other trade outlets,"​ stated Judge Gutierrez.

A drop in the ocean​

Only two weeks ago San Miguel posted September year-to-date consolidated net income of P20.9 billion (€0.33 billion). According to the company, this is about 200 per cent higher than the same period last year.

For the first nine months of 2008, the company’s sales revenue topped P122.2 billion (€1.93 billion), while operating income reportedly rose by 26 per cent to P11.7 billion (€0.18 billion).