““American brewer Schlitz was a highly successful brand of beer in the United States, but it saw its sales tumble from 18 million barrels in 1974 to one million barrels in 1988 through sheer mismanagement.1 The American brewer underestimated the effect of reducing quality to gain cost savings. It accelerated its fermentation process, substituted corn syrup for the traditional barley malt and changed stabiliser. The consumer spotted these cost savings, and their perceptions of the brand’s quality fell. Heavy advertising expenditures and a return to the previous quality were in vain. The mindspace had been taken by competitors Miller and Anheuser-Busch, and could not easily be retaken. The once strong Schlitz brand was relegated to cheap beer status and became increasingly difficult to find in bars and restaurants, especially””
