Bud Light distributor predicts no sales recovery.

A Dire‍ Situation for Bud Light: ‍Can the Brand Recover?

A distributor of Bud Light said he believes the​ brand will not recover from the fall in sales‌ following the‌ conservative boycott over ​its partnership with a transgender ⁢influencer.

“Consumers⁢ have made a choice,” a Texas-based beer distributor ‌ told the​ New York Post. “They have left⁢ [Bud Light] and that’s how it’s going to be. I don’t⁣ envision a big percentage of them coming back.”

Distributors are focusing on other brands as they’re worried‌ that those who boycotted Bud Light ⁢have settled⁣ on other, similar beers.

“There is an increasing feeling that this Bud Light decline rate could last for a while and the distributors are worried about losing those drinkers to other similar brands,” David Steinmann, executive editor at Beer Marketer’s Insights, told the⁣ Post.

The boycott began in April, when Bud Light’s partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney became public. Mulvaney revealed the ​collaboration on social media on April 1, showing ⁢a Bud Light can featuring⁣ the influencer’s face. ​Mulvaney also posted a ⁣video drinking Bud Light ‌in a bathtub.

Sales⁢ continue to suffer months later. In the week ending ​on ‍July 15, Bud Light sales​ were ‌down 13.9 percent and ⁢the brand’s volume, meaning the units of beer sold, was down 18 percent, Newsweek reported.

Parent Company Anheuser-Busch ⁣Announces ‍Layoffs

Parent company Anheuser-Busch this month ‍announced it is laying off hundreds of employees⁤ in the ‍United States.

The ‍move‍ affects less than 2 percent of the company’s workforce‍ of ⁤18,000 and will not impact warehouse or brewery ‌employees. Around 350 positions, many of them corporate, will be cut.

Bud Light has lost⁢ its‍ position as America’s top-selling beer. ⁣It was the second-best-selling beer in the ​four weeks leading up to June 3, making up 7.3 percent of U.S. retail-store ​beer purchases. Modelo took first place with‌ 8.4 percent ‍of sales,⁣ the Wall Street Journal reported.