Analyst: A-B InBev reviews direct distribution

CHICAGO - The world's largest brewer is studying whether to alter its beer distribution system in the U.S., potentially changing the way its beverages wind up on store shelves, according to an analyst.

The possible overhaul at Anheuser-Busch InBev, noted by UBS analyst Melissa Earlam on Wednesday, could save the company as much as $51 million if it opts to consolidate the number of distributors that sell the company's beer to retailers.

"ABI is currently reviewing the potential for direct distribution in the U.S.," Earlam wrote after a meeting with company executives, while maintaining her "Buy" rating on the company's shares.

Such a change could mean that as much as half of the beer distributed to U.S. retailers by the maker of Budweiser, Stella Artois and others could go through direct, company-owned distributors, Earlam wrote.

Now, only about 7 percent of the brewer's beer is distributed to merchants from the 13 company-owned distributors.

But spokeswoman Marianne Amssoms said the Belgian beer maker, which bought Anheuser-Busch last year, has no plans to change its U.S. distribution strategy, which now includes 600 distributors nationwide.

"Anheuser-Busch InBev has no plans to force consolidation," she said in a statement. "Consolidation has been occurring for many years, and we believe it will and should continue. We believe this should happen voluntarily over time. This is a position we have expressed to wholesalers repeatedly, and there is no change in our position."

The three-tiered alcohol distribution system dates back to the days after Prohibition, when state lawmakers created a system where alcohol makers sold their product to distributors, who in turn sold the goods to stores.

Unlike rival MillerCoors, a joint venture between SABMiller's U.S. unit and Molson Coors Brewing Co., Anheuser-Busch InBev has a complex distribution system. Streamlining distributors in some states, such as Indiana where the company works with 10 times the number of distributors as MillerCoors, could cut logistical expenses and sales costs.

A message left for a spokeswoman for a beer distributors' trade group wasn't immediately returned Thursday.

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