"This is Awkward" - Budweiser

Budweiser to Ship World Cup Winning Country Banned Beer

Just days before the World Cup was set to kickoff, the government of Qatar (the hosting country for the event) announced a ban on alcohol in and around all of the world cup stadiums. Authorities within Qatar appear to have overruled FIFA, soccer’s global governing body and owner of the World Cup.

Meanwhile, Budweiser, one of the largest and longest running partners of FIFA was obviously less than enthused by the decision. This major sporting event has always been a significant revenue driver for the beer maker. Budweiser was especially frustrated with the timing of the announcement, as Qatar decided to move forward with the beer ban just days before the World Cup began.

 

Leading up to the World Cup

For the months leading up to the World Cup, FIFA, Budweiser and Qatar the controversial hosting nation had seemed to have come to an agreement, regarding alcohol and beer sales at the event.

Leading up to the World Cup, Bud was under the impression they would be allowed to sell alcohol within stadium compounds, around the perimeter of the arena, but not within its concourses. The agreement modified the previous arrangement with FIFA, which has allowed beer at World Cups for decades. Qatar, a Muslim nation was quoted as saying “Alcohol is simply not a part of our culture like it is in other nations”.

Last week, just days before the World Cup was set to commence, Qatar finally began to push back on the sale of alcohol. First, they demanded outdoor beer tents be moved to less visible locations. This was then followed by a request to remove beer sales from stadium perimeters as well.

The beer ban stands to put the extremely lucrative contract between FIFA and Budweiser in jeopardy. The last-minute alcohol ban seemed to anger many western fans attending the event.

 

Buds Rebuttal

After posting and deleting a ‘this is awkward’ tweet, Budweiser went on to announce the following: “New day, new tweet, the winning country gets all the Buds. Who will get them?” Even if fans may not be able to consume Budweiser at the event, Bud wants to ensure fans of the winning country are able to celebrate as they wish.

While details are scarce, it seems the winning nation of the World Cup will be shipped all of the Budweiser, the distributor had planned to sell in Qatar.

 

Toys ‘R’ Us Returns to Macy’s Stores

Four years after announcing bankruptcy for its brand and all of their stores, Toys R Us is making a comeback with new shops opening up inside 400 Macy store departments. While these will be significantly smaller displays than you might have found inside your typical Toys R Us store, there still seems to be plenty of excitement for the return of Toys R Us. Macy’s is hoping there will be satisfaction in grabbing a toy while doing your holiday shopping at Macy’s.

Macy’s believes toy stores are ‘essential holiday shopping destinations’ and they’re banking big on Christmas nostalgia. Toys R Us is a licensed property, so it was a savvy business decision for Macy’s to acquire the license, marketing images, and properties as well.

Toys R Us will now join Macy’s ranks, as one of 11 flagship brands under their umbrella.

 

Bitcoin Miners Dive Deeper into the Red

It’s estimated that crypto miners have already amassed nearly $2.5 billion in outstanding loans, as crypto continues to tumble in 2022. Miners have continued to fall deeper in debt thanks to rising interest rates, and failed crypto exchanges and lenders such as FTX and BlockFi.

Miners’ balance sheets have been steadily deteriorating over the last several months as the price of Bitcoin has slumped. Meanwhile, energy prices continue to soar, making it even costlier to mine crypto. This resulted in one of the largest mining centers in the U.S. recently filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy. Many publicly traded miners have seen their stocks evaporate, shedding upwards of 90% of its value.

Now even crypto lenders are being forced to tighten their belt buckles. Being even more selective on what new blockchain technologies they chose to support. It looks like the start of 2023 will continue to deal with the current pain-points within the crypto industry.