BEER sales in Scotland fell while the Tartan Army travelled to Germany, it has been revealed.
Around 200,000 Scots flocked to Germany during the summer for the Euros, marking Scotland’s first tournament outside the UK for the men’s team since the 1998 World Cup.
Headlines across Germany piled on praise for the Tartan Army, as even the police thanked fans for creating a “special atmosphere”.
Yet whilst fans were away from home turf, beer sales fell – with Tennent’s reporting its volumes dropped by more than 9% across the summer.
READ MORE: 'You are always welcome back': Mayor of Cologne heaps praise on Tartan Army
Ralph Findlay, the chairman and chief executive of C&C Group, which owns Tennent’s, said he was initially surprised by the effect the tournament had on Scottish sales.
Findlay acknowledged that the relatively damp weather and weaker consumer confidence were likely to have played a part, but believed there was no doubt that the vast numbers of people travelling to Germany “had a temporary impact on the market”.
C&C Group’s financial results for the six months to the end of August showed pre-tax profit was relatively flat at €28.6 million after improved margins helped offset a near €18m decline in net revenue to €861.4m.
Findlay, who previously ran the pub group Marston’s, said: “If I look at how we’d been trading in Tennent’s up until the tournament each month we were generally speaking ahead of last year.
“And then July came and roughly 200,000 people went across to Germany.
“We definitely saw that in the numbers and saw that dip in that period. It certainly came back but it was a difficult time.”
READ MORE: Euro 2024: Why do Germans love Scotland so much?
Findlay said Tennent’s had grown its market share by five percentage points during the 10 weeks to August 10 and said there had been investment behind the brand as an official sponsor of the Scottish men’s team.
Tennent’s volumes dropped by 7% , which was slightly better than the wider market.
The Scotland team won just one point during the tournament, from the 1-1 draw with Switzerland in Cologne on June 19.
Yet despite the poor result, Tartan Army fans were voted the best supporters at the Euros.
German media outlet RTL said 52% of people believed Scots were the best fans, with Germany receiving 11% of the votes, Albania 5%, Croatia 4% and Italy 2%.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here