Molson

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Template:Brewbox begin Template:Brewbox image Template:Brewbox location Template:Brewbox owner Template:Brewbox opened Template:Brewbox production Template:Brewbox beers Template:Brewbox beer Template:Brewbox beer Template:Brewbox beer Template:Brewbox beer Template:Brewbox beer Template:Brewbox end Molson Inc. was Canada's largest alcoholic beverage brewer with sales of more than $2 billion CDN in 2003, and 3,800 employees working at five breweries. In February, 2005, it completed a merger with Coors to form Molson Coors Brewing Company. At the time of the merger, Molson controlled about 45% of the Canadian beer market and ties for first place with Labatt.

1 History
2 Quotes
3 Molson beers
4 Other ventures
5 See also
6 External links

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History

The company was founded in 1786 by John Molson, making it North America's oldest brewing company, and Canada's second oldest company after the Hudson's Bay Company. Molson's first brewery was located on the St. Lawrence River in Montreal.

Today Molson is the 13th largest brewer in the world. Molson's brands in Canada and the United States include Molson Canadian, Molson Canadian Light, Molson Ice, Molson Golden, Molson Export, Molson Dry, Stock Ale, Pilsner, Carling, Tornade and Calgary. In Brazil, Molson owns partial stakes in the Brazilian brands Marca Bavaria and Kaiser, after acquisitions and disposals in 2000, 2002 and 2006. As of January 2006, Molson has a 15% stake and a board seat in Cervejarias Kaiser the company responsible for Kaiser.[1] Molson also brews Fosters Lager under licence for the United States and Canadian markets.

In addition to alcoholic beverages, Molson owns a 20% stake in the Montreal Canadiens, who historically have been the NHL's most successful hockey team. They also sponsor the Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks, Detroit Red Wings, and Buffalo Sabres.

In 2000 Molson attracted a great deal of media attention with its "I Am Canadian" advertising campaign. The original sixty second commercial of Joe Canada tried to define what it means to be Canadian based on many light-hearted and stereotypical images of Canada. This campaign generated a huge amount of publicity and received a Bronze Lion award at the international advertising awards in Cannes, France.

On July 22, 2004 the company announced it would be merging with American brewer Coors, to create the world's fifth-largest brewing company. The anticipated name for the company is Molson Coors Brewing Co. Molson shareholders voted on the proposed merger on January 28, 2005, and were heavily in favor of the merger. The new company will be controlled 55 percent by Molson shareholders. Molson Coors executive offices are located in Montreal, Quebec and Denver, Colorado. The Canadian operational headquarters are located in Toronto, Ontario, with the U.S. operational headquarters located in Golden, Colorado. United Kingdom headquarters are in Burton-on-Trent, and the Brazilian headquarters are in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

On March 14, 2005, the Molson Coors Brewing Company announced that it was retiring its "I Am Canadian" advertising slogan for the new tagline "It Starts Here".[2]

On March 21, 2005 the company introduced Molson Kick, Canada's first caffeinated beer, which is targeted towards the younger crowd. Like Anheuser-Busch's B-to-the-E beer introduced in the United States, it contains guarana, a natural source of caffeine.

Molson bought Creemore Springs Brewery on April 22, 2005.[3]

Molson is part-owner of Brewers Retail Inc., operator of The Beer Store retail chain, which--protected by legislation--has an over 90% market share of Ontario beer sales.

A residence hall and football stadium at McGill University are named after the Molson family. The Molson Prize is awarded for distinguished service to the Arts and Social Sciences.

The Concordia business school is called the John Molson School of Business.

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