Molson Coors Brewing Company

Molson Coors Fact Sheet

Molson Coors Brewing Company embodies more than 350 years of pioneering spirit.

Within its history is the perseverance of an English immigrant who created a new strain of yeast because he couldn’t find one that met his exacting standards. Within its history is a 26-year-old German immigrant who came to the US as a penniless stowaway and within five years realized his dream of opening a brewery in the foothills of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains.

And within its history, are the shared values of determination, ingenuity, and commitment to social responsibility before it was fashionable, because good acts make for good business.

The companies that formed Molson Coors Brewing Company in 2005, the Adolph Coors Company and Molson Inc., began as similar dreams in the minds of John Molson in 1786 and Adolph Coors in 1873. These two men were separated by dozens of years and almost 2,000 miles, but they founded businesses that from day one were rooted in a commitment to community and craft.

The founders’ determination imbued their companies with the tenacity to endure and prosper despite a climate colder than Moscow, the frenzy of the Gold Rush, torching of the Parliament building by rebel invaders, more than a dozen years of Prohibition, and the Great Depression.

Great companies are shaped through passion, pride, and heritage. And sometimes, by coming together they can do even greater things.

Global Brands for a Global Market

The merger of Canadian-based Molson Inc. and Golden, Colorado’s Adolph Coors Company on Feb. 9, 2005 represents shared values and vision. The two companies joined to leverage their strengths in a fiercely competitive, rapidly consolidating global beer market. The merger makes Molson Coors a leading global brewer, with the longest history of brewing and marketing beer in North America.

In today’s global market, scale is critical to success for brewers. Molson Coors’ collective strength in the world’s most profitable beer markets enables the company to operate efficiently and profitably, while supporting its ongoing innovation, marketing, and expansion efforts. Molson Coors employs more than 9,500 people worldwide and operates 12 breweries with distribution in 30 countries. Molson Coors is a leading brewer in Canada through Molson and in Europe and Asia through Coors Brewers Ltd. The company also has a growth profile in the US through Coors Brewing Company, the country’s third largest brewer.

The company’s diverse portfolio of nearly 40 brands positions it competitively in the brewing industry. Molson Coors’ signature brands include Coors, Coors Light, Molson Canadian, and Carling. Coors Light is the number one light beer in Canada and the fourth-largest beer brand in the United States. Molson Canadian is the number one beer in Canada, and Carling is the UK’s best-selling lager. Blue Moon is the second best-selling craft beer in the US Other Molson Coors’ brands include Keystone, Grolsch, Killian’s Irish Red, Worthington, Caffrey’s, and Rickard’s.

Organic Growth, Long-Term Value

More than two years after the merger, the combined scope, scale and talent at Molson Coors has created impressive results. The company has aligned under one brand while positioning itself as a major global player in the international beer industry. With a strong presence in three of the world’s largest and most profitable markets – Canada, the US and the UK – Molson Coors continues to strengthen its domestic and international beer business by pursuing opportunities in emerging markets.

"By combining Molson and Coors, we created a company with the market and financial strength necessary to drive organic growth and compete more effectively in today's increasingly challenging global market, while preserving the rich heritages of two of the world's most prominent brewing companies,” said Leo Kiely, chief executive officer of Molson Coors. “We’re drawing on our brewing heritage and a world-class leadership team to deliver lasting value to our customers, partners, employees and shareholders.”

An important ingredient in Molson Coors’ vision for success in a highly competitive global beer industry is continually – and strategically – reinvesting in our priority brands. As important as it is to be thoughtful about where, how, and when to invest, it’s equally critical to target precisely where to save. In the second quarter 2007, Molson Coors implemented cost reduction plans across our global enterprise, significantly balancing out cost inflation increases. At the end of the second quarter, the company’s year-to-date savings from synergies and cost savings initiatives totaled $78 million.

Winning Culture

It’s an understatement to say that times have changed since each of the brewing patriarchs in the Molson Coors family bottled their first shipments of beer. But many of the challenges that faced Adolph Coors and John Molson remain essentially the same today: turning a passion for great beer into strong beer brands. Never failing to meet consumers’ expectations. And, perhaps most of all, finding great people who can make the vision a reality – and rewarding them in kind.

Shared values, a passion for beer, and a strong brewing heritage have brought people together at Molson Coors. As Leo Kiely puts it, “People make the beer business.” People define a winning culture at Molson Coors and determine the success of every critical growth phase. They reinforce values – passion, creativity, excelling – that inch the company closer to being a top-performing global brewer.

Treating people with respect and integrity are baseline values at Molson Coors, but working to attract and retain them is a renewed area of emphasis. For employees to help Molson Coors achieve its vision for success, the company must support them in kind toward achieving their own. To this end, Molson Coors strives to both continually challenge and consistently reinvest in its people as passionate stewards of the brand.