one or two other large ones that mi

one or two other large ones that might carry another major as their lead brewer, and

several smaller ones who carried brands or retail outlets that the larger ones didn't. Anheuser-
Busch's network was the strongest: its 970 wholesalers usually did not carry other brewers' beer,

simplifying inventory management and delivery. Miller's wholesalers were about as large, but often

carried 5-12 brands besides Miller's. The other competitors had had increasing difficulty finding

large wholesalers to carry them as lead brewers. The average

wholesalers had fallen from 3.0% in 1981 to 2.1% by 1984.