LISTED DRINKS group C&C has decided to cut the price of a pint bottle of its Bulmers cider by 10 per cent in a bid to try and stimulate sales in the Irish market.

It is understood that the price reduction will be announced in the coming days and will be backed up by a heavyweight advertising campaign.

Bulmers is positioned as a premium alcoholic drink and is the most expensive pint on sale in Irish pubs. Its price ranges across the country, with pubs in Dublin charging more than €5 a bottle.

The price cut is expected to hit C&C’s revenues on Bulmers although this is not expected to be material to the group. The price cut is expected to apply to Bulmers’ traditional apple cider and its new pear-flavoured drink.

Bulmers is the number one cider in the Irish market, but its sales have been flat in recent times due to the effects of bad summer weather and many consumers increasingly choosing to drink at home rather than going to the pub.

Bulmers market share declined year-on-year by 0.4 percentage points to a 9.4 per cent share last year. Its share of the on-trade declined by 0.6 points to 10.1 per cent, but it increased in the off-licence sector by 0.1 point to 7.9 per cent.

C&C’s total cider revenues, which includes Magners in the UK, fell by 15.2 per cent in the 12 months to the end of February 2009 to €387 million.

This is one of the first initiatives taken by C&C’s new executive management team, led by John Dunsmore, to turn around its sales performance.