SAB Miller Eye Further Growth in China
Heilongjiang Province reported total beer sales in 2005 of 15 million hectolitres and annual consumption per capita of 39 litres, significantly above the national average of 23 litres.
06/05/06 China Resources Snow Breweries Limited, an associate of SABMiller plc and a subsidiary of China Resources Enterprise Limited has announced that it will invest US$35.3 million in the construction of a new brewery in Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province. Construction of the brewery has commenced and is expected to complete in 18 months with an initial production capacity of 2.3 million hectolitres. The brewery will be used mainly to produce CR Snow’s national brand, “SNOW”, targeting the Harbin area and the western region of the province. CR Snow’s existing brewery in Shangzhi, a city in the south-eastern region of Heilongjiang, will service the eastern part of the province.
Heilongjiang Province reported total beer sales in 2005 of 15 million hectolitres and annual consumption per capita of 39 litres, significantly above the national average of 23 litres. The new brewery will provide a production, distribution and marketing platform to support the national brand strategy of SNOW and cater for the increased demand of CR Snow products. Total sales volumes of SNOW brand increased 47% in 2005 to 15.8 million hectolitres. Over the past two years CR Snow has increased sales volume by approximately 90% in Heilongjiang Province and has grown its market share in the province to circa 20%.
Mr. André Parker, Managing Director of SABMiller Africa & Asia, said, “The need to build a brewery to supply the demand in this key region shows the increasing presence we have in Heilongjiang despite the other incumbent competitors. This will provide us a perfect base from which we can expand our successful SNOW brand into Harbin and challenge the competitive environment.”
Mr. Mark Chen, Managing Director of China Resources Enterprise, Limited said, “The greenfield plant further consolidates our position in the north-eastern area of China – the home of the SNOW brand. It offers an economical and efficient solution to provide the capacity and complements the existing operations in the area.”
