Hmmm, wonder which brewer in Belize they could be talking about.
Banks still in mix
Published on: 12/21/06.
by CARMEL HAYNES
BANKS HOLDINGS LTD. (BHL) is not out of the running yet for an official sponsorship position during the International Cricket Council's (ICC) Cricket World Cup 2007.
While the local distributor for Coca-Cola cannot retail its soft drink products in and around Kensington Oval, thanks to cola rival Pepsi locking down that deal, it still has room to manoeuvre in its beer sales.
BHL chief executive officer Richard Cozier said Banks had joined with five other regional breweries under the Caribbean Brewers Association banner to make a joint tender to be the official suppliers of beer across the tournament venues (except Jamaica and Antigua, which have already been given to Jamaican brewer Red Stripe).
Right to sell
Cozier explained the brewers were not seeking a sponsorship deal on the same grand marketing scale as Pepsi, but one where they would have the right to sell their beer on tap at grounds hosting World Cup cricket and official events.
Speaking during a Press conference yesterday to announce BHL's $37 million investment in two beverage producers in Belize and The Bahamas, Cozier revealed that the brewers had come to this decision after the ICC's deadline to appoint an official brewer for the tournament came and went without any international brewers showing interest.
Should the regional brewers secure the deal, each individual brewer would then be designated as the official beer for their national tournament venue.
Not a done deal
However, Cozier admitted that the joint tender was not a done deal since one brewer had not fully signed on to the bid as yet, but BHL was putting a "Plan B" in place to position itself to bid alone for the Barbadian market should the joint attempt fall through.
"We cannot go forward unless we get a unanimous, 100 per cent agreement and in this case there were two breweries [holding out]. One brewery has subsequently come on board and there's one brewery now that we're trying to convince that the formula is equitable and fair. If we fail in that respect, then we have to fall back on individual sponsorships.
"I still hold out hope that in the next 48 hours we can convince that brewer that what he's being asked to pay is fair in the grand scheme of things, but if not, it would mean that we would have to go for the Plan B."
AmbergrisCaye.com 
