Off-Premise Trends on “Stagnant Trajectory”

Dear Client:  As we head into Labor Day weekend and the unofficial end of the summer, bev alc performance remains pretty lackluster. Indeed, NielsenIQ's latest report covering the four weeks through August 22 includes descriptors like "muted," "under pressure," "idle," and "falls short."  Total bev alc sales were down 3.3% and volumes were down 5.2% for the four-week period in NIQ-measured off-premise channels compared to the same period last year. On a week-over-week basis, sales were flattish.  "The stagnant trajectory