Molson Coors CEO steps down amid sales slump
Mark Hunter announces retirement as brewer hit by weaker demand
Molson Coors Brewing Co. said its chief executive is stepping down as the company struggles with declining sales and a consumer shift away from light lagers to Mexican imports, craft beers, wine and spirits.
Mark Hunter, who oversaw the acquisition of MillerCoors, making Molson the No. 2 brewer in the U.S., will retire in September, the company said. He will be replaced by Gavin Hattersley, who currently serves as CEO of Molson’s U.S. subsidiary.
The brewer Wednesday posted second-quarter sales and earnings that missed expectations amid a drop in demand, particularly for its largest brand, Coors Light. The company’s share price fell more than 8% in midday trading.
“There will be change,” Mr. Hattersley said on a call with analysts Wednesday. “We need to consider all options that we can take to maximize the future potential of our business and to create additional firepower to put behind our brands and in order for us to innovate, and that’s what I plan to do.”
Mr. Hunter said his goal since taking the helm of the brewer in 2015 had been making “a bigger and better company” through the MillerCoors acquisition and integration. “As we now shift emphasis to a greater focus on top line growth…it’s an appropriate time for me to pass the baton on to Gavin.”
The company in 2018 formed a joint venture with Canadian marijuana company Hexo Corp. to develop a line of nonalcoholic, cannabis-infused drinks set to launch in Canada later this year. Mr. Hunter said they would help bolster the brewer’s sagging revenues. He added that the company expects to bring non-psychoactive drinks laced with CBD, a cannabis extract, to the U.S. when they are cleared by regulators.
The departing chief also pointed to a change in marketing strategy following the hire in January of Kraft Heinz executive Michelle St. Jacques as chief marketing officer for MillerCoors. “Both Gavin and I were not happy with our performance with our marketing in the U.S.,” Mr. Hunter said. A new Coors Light campaign, “Made to Chill,” launched this week, targeting young, legalage drinkers. In one ad, a woman comes home from work, feeds her fish, grabs a beer from the fridge and pulls her bra out from under her blouse. In another, a man fries a couple of eggs and cracks open a beer with his roommate to watch Saturday morning football.
Mr. Hunter joined Bass Brewers in 1989 and has been with Molson Coors since its acquisition of the U.K. business in 2002. Before taking the helm of the company, he was CEO of Molson Coors Europe.
Mr. Hattersley has been CEO of MillerCoors, the company’s U.S. business unit, since September 2015. He previously served as Molson’s chief financial officer and before that was CFO of MillerCoors.
Molson, which also makes Miller Lite and Blue Moon, reported net income of $329.4 million, or $1.52 a share, for the quarter, down from $424.1 million, or $1.96 a share, a year earlier.
Analysts polled by FactSet, on average, were expecting earnings of $1.67 a share for the quarter.
Net sales fell 4.4% to $2.95 billion, missing Wall Street’s forecasts of $3.03 billion.