Heineken ‘bullied’ bars and brewers to stock its beers
THE brewing giant poised to take on 1,900 British pubs is facing an £80m lawsuit for allegedly bullying bars and rival brewers into selling its beer.
Heineken, which is buying punch taverns pubs as part of a £1.8bn takeover deal, is being taken to task by a microbrewery.
It has accused the dutch company of excluding smaller brewers from bars and supermarkets in greece, and using exclusivity agreements to force publicans to stock Heineken brands.
the company has already been handed a £25m fine by the greek competition regulator, and last night Macedonian thrace Brewery took the fight to a dutch court.
the legal spat came as British landlords affected by the punch takeover expressed fears that they would have to stock Heineken’s beers instead of being able to choose a selection from local brewers.
MTB is claiming damages of at least £80m for lost income and two decades of anti-competitive market manipulation.
demetri politopoulos, its founder and chief executive, said: ‘For decades Heineken has been acting like a giant bully who’ll stop at nothing to get its way.
‘It has been illegally distorting the greek beer market while protecting the supremacy it wields, by coercing and intimidating distributors, retailers and wholesal- ers, and ripping off customers.’ British landlords are involved in a fight to ensure their pubs are not just filled with Heineken beers.
Chris Lindesay, coordinator at the punch tenant network, said: ‘Heineken has got form for anticompetitive practices. Leopards don’t change their spots.’
Heineken, whose brands include amstel, Fosters and Birra Moretti, was found to have operated a ‘long-running’ and ‘targeted’ policy to squeeze out competitors by imposing exclusivity clauses on retailers.
It has branded the ruling ‘unfair’ and pledged to contest it in court.
MtB said that it was forced to sell its beer at a 50pc discount just to get a spot on supermarket shelves.
demetri Chriss, director of business development at MtB, said: ‘this is a company that has been found guilty of abusing its position in its home country in Holland and in other eu countries. If it remains true to form, British publicans better get ready for their own Heineken experience.’
Heineken said its greek subsidiary, athenian Brewery, had appealed against the fine, which dates back to 2015, and that appeal was still pending. Heineken had no further comment.