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Commonwealth Brewery tours still possible By Inderia Saunders ~ Guardian Business Reporter ~ Inderia@nasguard.com: Executives at Commonwealth Brewery have confirmed that plans for tours of its brewery are still on the table, although a decision has yet to be made on when that will kick off. "That's something we would still like to do," Wendell Seymour, head of marketing, told Guardian Business. "We are considering when we're going to do it but right now we don't have an exact start date. "But no it's not off the table." It's good news, given that move was placed on hold in 2009, due to budget and staffing constraints in the recession. Officials had lingering doubts on whether a down economy would be a good time to bring such a facility on-line, given its heavy reliance on patronage from visitors. In the past, executives have expressed the importance of allowing thirsty vacationers to see the actual production site of the beer they'll enjoy while here and hopefully take home with them. It's a concept that marks the export history of Mexico's Corona Beer, now known and purchased worldwide in the tens of millions of bottles annually. A Commonwealth move to open its doors to tours could position the company for invigorated local sales and pave the way for greater export. But growing that area is something Seymour said the company is not too focused on at the moment. "What we want to do right now is maintain the volume that we currently get abroad," he said. "It's not a priority to grow that volume as yet. "It's a difficult business for us because we really don't make a lot of money from what we export, because we need to be able to compete in the food stores with the other brands that are on the shelves." The brewery exports over 100,000 cases annually, including to seven states in the U.S., assert officials. The Bahamas is now without the kind of distillery tour Bacardi, which has officially closed shop, offered hundreds of thousands of tourists over the last several decades. The program was also a way of promoting sales and brand affiliation for the rum company among American drinkers, ultimately bolstering its U.S. sales.
Tuesday February 2, 2010 |
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