AB InBev Is Encouraging Mexican Workers to Stay in Mexico... and Sell Anheuser Beer Jim Vorel - Paste
go to original September 19, 2017

A fascinating story was recently published in Ad Age, detailing the rise of the “Modelorama” chain of beer stores in Mexico and the recent efforts of Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) to encourage Mexican workers, both at home and in the U.S., to either stay in Mexico or return to their native country in order to become franchisees. AB-owned Grupo Modelo, which operates the Modeloramas, has even produced an emotion-laden documentary in praise of the opportunities that the chain purports to create for family-owned and operated franchise businesses. Ad Age seems to suggest that the renewed focus on this Modelorama chain is something of a response to President Donald Trump’s continued anti-immigration statements. To quote the story:

“We said ‘that’s a great opportunity,’ says Daniel Haskell, business unit head of Modelorama. ‘Why don’t we launch the brand through an initiative that lets people know in an impactful way that they don’t have to go to the other side of the wall to find opportunity?”

The choice to describe this as the “launch” of the brand is something of an odd one, considering the Modeloramas have been around for some time—at least since 2013, when AB InBev acquired Grupo Modelo. Oddly, the Ad Age story then immediately goes on to say that at this time, Modelorama was “such a neglected product that no one even remembers when the first Modelorama opened. For a while, the name was changed to Corona, Modelo’s flagship beer. Some outlets used both names, in an excess of confused branding.”

And yet, there are apparently 8,000 Modelorama stores across Mexico representing 15% of Grupo Modelo’s sales, and that number is exploding. Grupo Modelo is reportedly opening “two or three” per day currently, which adds up to 873 new Modeloramas in 2016 and more than 900 so far in 2017. And the cost of getting started with the company is incredibly small, by American standards: Just $5,000 in order to become a Modelorama franchisee, according to Haskell.

Read the rest at Paste

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