ABSTRACT
In both developed and developing economies, the magnitude of geographical concentration in alcoholic beverage output is matched by accelerating corporate concentration. This chapter investigates the oligopolistic and conglomerate movements that are discernible in the beer, wine and distilled spirits sectors. Crucial to an understanding of the global alcoholic beverage industry are the marketing strategies, structures and interactions of the major corporate actors within contemporary capitalism. Vertical integration marked one more step in the complexity of capital accumulation, involving the technical implementation of more than one stage of the production process by a given firm. Concomitant with the ascendancy of TNCs was the growth of monopolistic and oligopolistic power within certain key industrial sectors, strikingly so in petroleum, tobacco, chemicals, and iron and steel. Blurring of demarcations between different alcohol sectors is perhaps best seen in the USA, where over half of the wine output is now produced by large corporations whose traditional strength was distilled spirits.
