Industry Alcoholic beverage Website cub.com.au CEO Ari Mervis (16 Dec 2011–) | Products Beer Headquarters Melbourne, Australia Founded 1903 | |
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Parent organizations Foster's Group, Anheuser-Busch InBev Subsidiaries Bulmer Australia Ltd., Kent Brewery Ltd., CNAB Pty. Ltd., The Continental Spirits Company Pty. Ltd. | ||
Carlton & United Breweries (CUB Pty. Ltd.) is an Australian brewing company that operates as a subsidiary of Foster's Group. It is based in Abbotsford, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. In 1983 it became a wholly owned subsidiary of Elders IXL and CUB was delisted. In 1990, Elders IXL was renamed as Foster's Group, and in July 2004, CUB changed its name to Carlton & United Beverages. In February 2009, Foster's announced the decision to separate the Australian Wine division from the Australian Beer, Cider & Spirits (BCS) division, and rename BCS to Carlton & United Breweries.
CUB produces many of Australia's most successful beverages, including Australia's best selling beer, Victoria Bitter.
In December 2011, South African owned brewer SAB Miller acquired Foster's Group, and took over ownership of Carlton & United Breweries as part of the acquisition.
Since 10 October 2016 when Anheuser-Busch InBev acquired the entire SABMiller company, the latter - including its subsidiaries such as Foster's Group Pty. Ltd. - has been a business division of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV. SABMiller ceased to exist as a corporation after the acquisiton. SABMiller also ceased trading on global stock markets. As a result, Carlton & United is now owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV.
History
The history of Carlton & United Breweries / Beverages or CUB began when Carlton, Fosters, Victoria, Shamrock, Castlemaine and McCracken breweries formed into a cartel known as the Society of Melbourne Brewers in 1903. Emil Resch played a significant role in enabling the amalgamation. Resch also went on to become the first general manager of CUB. The merge allowed CUB to raise prices and remain profitable in what had been an unprofitable market. In 1907 this group merged into a single company known as the Carlton & United Breweries. The company became public in 1913 with the issue of 100,000 shares.
Over time it has bought out many other brewers, such as Abbotsford Co-operative Brewery in 1924 (a company set up by independent hoteliers to combat the anti-competitive nature of the Society of Melbourne Brewers.) Their first interstate acquisition was Northern Australian Breweries and the Cairns Brewery in 1931. Further acquisitions were the Ballarat Brewing Company, Queensland Brewery Ltd, Thos McLauchlin & Co Pty Ltd, Richmond Brewery and Tooth & Co.
In 1983 as an ironic twist of fate, CUB was wholly bought by Elders IXL, a giant Australian diversified conglomerate with Pastoral, Financial, Materials and Food interests. Elders Brewing Group (as it then became known as) continued to acquire brewing companies in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States. Finally in 1990 Elders Brewing Group changed its name to Foster's Group, to reflect the name of their most internationally recognised product.
In July 2004, Carlton & United Breweries changed its name to Carlton & United Beverages (retaining CUB acronym), citing the company's diversification into pre-mixed drinks, juices, ciders and non-alcoholic drinks.
In February 2009, Foster's announced the outcomes of a review of its global wine business, including the decision to separate the Australian Wine division from the Australian Beer, Cider & Spirits (BCS) division, and rename BCS to Carlton & United Breweries.
In mid-June 2016 CUB made the controversial decision to lay off 55 workers (mostly electricians and fitters) before inviting those same workers to reapply for their old jobs on individual contracts involving stripped conditions, clauses and significant pay cuts (the workers are suggesting a 65 per cent wage cut once penalty rates and other entitlements are factored in).
SABMiller, CUB's global owner, responded to criticisms from the union movement that its action is not illegal as it has no direct contractual relationship with the maintenance crews that were laid off. Rather, it has a contractual relationship with one subcontractor and the action constitutes the "passing" of a contract to another, which has the prerogative to set pay and conditions of workers at its own discretion. SABMiller have made no comment regarding the lower pay and poorer conditions offered to workers.
The decision has generated considerable poor publicity for CUB, with a widespread social media campaign as well as union efforts to highlight the workers' plight, who argue the brewer has conducted a "transmission of business" manoeuvre. Several pubs in Victoria have stopped selling CUB products in support of the sacked workers, but as at September 2016 CUB said the boycott was not having an impact on sales.