SCOTTISH & Newcastle is now not so much a brewer as a purveyor of dynamic brands "living the dream" for trendy young drinkers around the world, chief executive Tony Froggatt told the annual meeting in Edinburgh yesterday.
For the event's loyal Scottish shareholders, who tend to be neither young nor trendy, living the dream in the form of the treasured free bar laid on afterwards has so far been unaffected by the quiet revolution.
"I like the old-fashioned Scottish beer which is not gassy, " said retired shareholder Bob MacHugh of Edinburgh. "But what the young ones want is beer with bubbles."
According to Froggatt, the proportion of sales grabbed by new brands has doubled to 10per cent, thanks to innovations such as the "super chilled" bar tap which he called "part of the cinema of the on-trade".
The avuncular chairman Sir Brian Stewart, veteran of the company's forays into hotels and holiday parks, was first on message with the new razamatazz which portrays S&N as a sexy growth story, not a mature income-yielding stock in tweeds. "We have gone through a very exciting period of change, " he began from the chair, ending 70 minutes later with: "We are all really excited about the prospects."
The excitement began with a slick promotional video: moody Scottish pipes, pubs and puddles ("we are proud of our roots") quickly giving way to fast-moving international images and high-decibel pop ("but we have moved on"), featuring the under-30s drinking little ever brewed in Scotland.
From glasses gassing with Belgian Grimbergen and French Kronenbourg to bottles brimming with Sagres in Lisbon, Newcastle Brown Ale in New York and Baltika in Belarus, not to mention a warehouse full of Fosters, to which S&N bought full European rights last week, the video party swung on to a final "cheers" from a bar full of youthful brandophiles.
Froggatt had the figures to prove it. Fosters sales grew by 10.3per cent last year, Sagres by 11.5per cent, Strongbow by 17.4per cent and Baltika by 17.7per cent, he told shareholders. "Strong pricing means we are achieving the magical growth-with-value combination."
Alastair Adamson, a retired shareholder, was unconvinced that the board was as trendy as it ought to be. "I am surprised Mr Bowman (new director Philip, chief executive of ScottishPower) was considered suitable for the post when he was still under 60, " he said ironically. "The non-executives may be independent but I am concerned they are also independent of modern ideas . . . Sir Angus Grossart is already 68."
Stewart responded that the wealth of experience on the board could not easily be replicated in young, trendy, directors - and that any board members who reached 70 would be re-elected annually.
Grossart, meanwhile, was in fact re-elected with a near 99per cent vote, against under 94per cent for Stewart - who has been questioned over his dual chairmanship of Standard Life.
Froggatt, who was as excited about cashf low and return on capital as he was about brands, said a GBP60m cost-saving programme had been completed this weekwith the setting up of a distribution joint venture. The move, which will see 1900 S&N staff transfer to Swiss company Kuehne + Nagel, was called "a slap in the face" by the Transport and General Workers' Union's national organiser on Tuesday.
However, John Dunsmore, head of S&N's UK business, said: "The critical point is we believe the 1900 employees are going to benefit more than if they were to stay tied to an inhouse part of S&N." He said union comments did not reflect the views of the staff involved.
As the bar f lowed afterwards, the unrepentant drinkers of Youngers and McEwans warmed to the revolution. Retired shareholder Barrie Tulloch said he was only worried about Russia. "I don't think it is a stable economy . . . you could get your fingers burned."
However, Bob MacHugh countered: "The old-timers still think Edinburgh is the centre of the universe. I think Russia is a tremendous step."
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