Carlsberg- Probably the slowest paying brewer in the world?

At a time when companies are finding it extremely tough to obtain finance from banks, in some cases, just to keep things ticking over while the recession winds down, the last thing they need is for customers to put even more pressure on their fragile cash flow positions. The Forum of Private Business, a lobby group working for the best interests of small UK businesses, has been producing a “Hall of Shame” of poor trade payers and has recently added the name of Carlsberg to its ever growing list of trade “pip squeezers”.
Is Carlsberg “probably the slowest brewer in the world”? I don’t know for sure, but they have informed all their suppliers that their new payment terms are 95 days from the end of the month in which an invoice is sent out. Some suppliers will therefore have to wait nearly 4 months to get their money.
I am sure Carlsberg has invested a lot of time and money into producing its own glossy Corporate Social Responsibility brochure, but its funny how some of these documents produced by our largest corporations bear little resemblance to the reality on the ground.
Good advertising will only get you so far……