COBB COUNTY, Ga. — The owner of two Mexican imported beers said the crackdown on immigration from President Donald Trump’s administration is scaring their Hispanic customers and hurting their sales of Modelo and Corona beers.
The CEO of Constellation Brands, the company that owns Modelo and Corona, said half of their US customers are Hispanic and that they’ve seen a drop in people going out to restaurants or gathering in large groups because of what he believes to be a fear of deportations.
He said he believes that fear led to a one percent drop in their beer shipments nationwide last quarter.
The chairman of United Distributors, Doug Hertz, one of Constellation’s competitors, which is headquartered in Smyrna, said he’s noticed that trend as well.
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“The first quarter numbers for all the major Mexican imports were all significantly down, and that was led by Modelo and Corona, but Modelo is really one of the big brands that grew because of the Hispanic population, and we saw it nationally, and we saw it here in this market as well,” Hertz said.
United Distributors sells alcohol to bars, restaurants, and hotels. Hertz said the impact from the immigration crackdown is in addition to the impact they’re already bracing for from tariffs on imported alcohol.
“Those products will cost us a lot more, and we’ll have to charge our customers a lot more, who will have to charge their consumers a lot more,” Hertz said.
However, the owner of Tacos La Villa in Smyrna said her business hasn’t been impacted yet.
“Always Modelo and Corona, those are still the most popular beers we sell,” said owner Nancy Covarrubias.
Covarrubias said she expanded her restaurant two months ago to include a bar, and since then, her alcohol sales have been increasing.
“Hopefully, we do not have to change any prices,” Covarrubias said. “We always try to keep everything reasonable,”
Hertz said consumers could feel the impact of tariffs and see prices increase as soon as 30 to 60 days from now.
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