Coors Distributing history

Some 2,000 employees of the aluminum ‐ container plant were furloughed for two weeks in February, and there were three layoffs of brewery workers in the first nine months of 1975.

Coors, on the other hand, only reluctantly joined the light beer movement--introducing Coors Light in 1978--and grudgingly increased its meager marketing outlay.

The last tenet was that 'a good beer sells itself.' Until 1980 Coors spent substantially less on advertising than any other brewer.

Coors refused to sell its product to distributors that the company regarded as unable to handle the beer properly. As a result, Coors's 1982 sales volume declined to less than 12 million barrels for the first time in ten years, and the company relinquished its third-place ranking to Stroh Brewing Company.

The brewery now puts out about 12 million barrels of beer a year, but construction sites throughout the grounds bear witness to the company's hopes for doubling that capacity by 1984.

The company embraced the concept of brand segmentation and discounting, introducing the 'economy' or 'popularly priced' Keystone and Keystone Light in 1989.

With Coors running up against its lone brewery's 20-million-barrel annual capacity, Peter floated the company's first long-term debt offering in 1990.

If, as Peter Coors hinted to a reporter in a March 1991 Forbes article, the company wanted to mount a challenge to second-ranking Miller Brewing, it would still need to double its United States brewing capacity.

In 1992, Coors launched Zima, one of the beer industry's most creative new beverages.

A significant cost-cutting move came in the form of a 1993 workforce reduction of 700, which was accompanied by a $70 million charge that led to the company's first full-year loss in ten years.

In 1994 the company purchased the El Aquila brewery in Zaragoza, Spain, to manufacture Coors Gold for the Spanish market and Coors Extra Gold and Coors Light for several markets in Europe.

The drink's novelty won it instant popularity that fizzled even before Coors could introduce its first derivative, Zima Gold, in 1995.

In 1997 the company entered into a partnership with Foster's Brewing Group Limited of Australia and the Molson Companies Limited of Canada for the distribution of Coors brands in Canada.

In 1999 Zima Citrus was introduced, offering a blend of natural citrus flavors.

2000: Peter Coors is named chairman of Coors Brewing and president and CEO of Adolph Coors Company.

2005 — Coors Brewing merges with Molson Brewing of Canada, establishing headquarters in both Denver and Montreal and agreeing to rotate the chairmanship of the board between members of the Coors and Molson families.

2008 — Coors inks a joint venture with SABMiller to create MillerCoors, a Chicago-headquartered company that handles production and distribution of the brewing giants’ products in the United States.

2016 — After purchasing SABMiller, Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD) divests of Miller’s share of MillerCoors, giving Molson Coors 100% ownership over it.

2019 — Molson Coors Brewing Co. (NYSE:TAP) CEO Gavin Hattersley announced the company will consolidate its headquarters in Chicago under a revitalization plan.