Foster’s Talks Big Challenges and Plans for 2010

Dear Client:Foster’s Group chief Ian Johnston struck a similar tone to other industry leaders at the company’s shareholders meeting today. Foster’s beer business is still strong but wine is another story. Like other company heads, Ian said global sales were “heavily affected by challenging global financial conditions.” Those “conditions” prompted consumers to stay home and trade down, which eventually led distributors and retailers to reduce stock. This negatively affected Foster’s because the company “is skewed toward higher margin premium bottled