The ongoing Bud Light boycott sparked by its partnership with TikTok influencer Dylan Mulvaney has not only put a noticeable dent in Anheuser–Busch’s (AB) bank account but has also impacted those in the company’s distribution network.
For seven straight weeks, sales of Bud Light have fallen off a cliff, with sales figures dropping as much as 60 percent during the week of Memorial Day. The product endorsement AB gave Mulvaney resulted in enormous public backlash with millions of dollars being shaved off the company’s market value.
But the financial blow isn’t just having a trickle–down effect—it’s having a trickle–up effect as well.
According to ABC News, the brunt of this financial hit is the thousands of salespeople employed by the rough 500 independent wholesalers that are responsible for selling Anheuser–Busch products in restaurants, bars, and grocery stores across the US.
Anson Frericks, a former Anheuser–Bush executive, says that salespeople typically make around $60,000 per year, with a good portion of that being variable pay or commission. But thanks to the Bud Light boycott, many are reporting far less than they’ve made in recent years.
An anonymous supervisor from a Florida–based distributor spoke to ABC about the average salesperson making around $2,000 less last month than in previous Mays.
This financial hit didn’t go unnoticed by Anheuser–Busch and InBev CEO, Michel Doukeris. During an earnings call last month, he acknowledged the pain felt by “front–line workers”, including delivery drivers and sales reps.
He also said that AB provided a bit of financial aid to those affected, dispersing $500 to frontline workers at the independent distributors, along with additional ad spending money for the month of May.
But these measures have done little to improve Bud Light’s sliding sales figures. According to figures from Bump Williams Consultancy, US sales of Bud Light have dropped by as much as 20 percent each week for the past several weeks.
Harry Schumacher, editor of Beer Business Daily, said the industry is in shock over the sheer magnitude of the decline in sales. He said even AB’s competitors aren’t really celebrating the good news because they know it could’ve happened to them.
It’s unclear when, if ever, sales of Bud Light will start increasing again. Until then, the only thing certain is that the thousands of salespeople employed by AB’s independent wholesalers will continue to feel the brunt of the Bud Light boycott in their wallets.