Research and Markets: San Miguel (Guangdong) Brewery Co Ltd Has Launched Blue Star 2008 Which Is Also A Limited Edition Product For Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

Dublin, Aug 05, 2008 (M2 PRESSWIRE via COMTEX) -- BUSRF | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/38d53a/beer_in_china_08) has announced the addition of the "Beer in China 08" report to their offering.

Beer in China market report offers a comprehensive guide to the size and shape of the market at a national level. It provides the latest retail sales data, allowing you to identify the sectors driving growth. It identifies the leading companies, the leading brands and offers strategic analysis of key factors influencing the market - be they new product developments, packaging innovations, economic/lifestyle influences, distribution or pricing issues. Forecasts illustrate how the market is set to change.

Ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games to be held next year, most brewers have used the Olympic theme as the focus of their recently marketing strategies. As of the end 2007, three companies have become official sponsors of the 2008 games - Tsingtao Brewery Co Ltd, Beijing Yanjing Brewery Co Ltd and Budweiser Wuhan International Brewing Co Ltd. Tsingtao rolled out an interactive programme I Am the Champion , in collaboration with Hunan TV in the beginning of 2007. In 2006 Yanjing used Fuwa (the mascot of 2008 Olympics) merchandise as the gift in its promotion. Budweiser developed a 2008 Olympic limited edition pop can for its lager and used the Olympics as the theme in all its outdoor advertisement in the summer of 2007. In addition to the official sponsor brewers, other companies also latched on to the same trend. For example, San Miguel (Guangdong) Brewery Co Ltd has launched Blue Star 2008 which is also a limited edition product for Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Within beer, domestic premium lager achieved the strongest volume growth in 2007 to reach 822 million litres. This has taken its share of total lager from 1.6% in 2000 to 2.2% in 2007. The premium series of main brands such as Tsingtao Premium and Heineken have been well accepted by local consumers. According to the trade sources, the average profit for beer in China is less than RMB100 per tonne, which is very low for brewers. As a result the leading manufacturers are increasingly focussed on developing high-end products to earn greater profits.

In China, beer is mainly sold through off-trade channels, which accounted for around 67% of total volume in the review period. When consumers purchase beer at the off-trade outlets such as a supermarket, they tend to purchase domestic economy or standard lagers for the reasonable unit price. And manufacturers often did promotions in supermarkets, such as buy 5 get 1 free and direct price discounting.

A third of total beer volume sales came from the on-trade channels such as restaurants, hotels, and bars. In value terms this translates to a share of 44% because the unit price in the on-trade outlets is definitely higher. This is especially true for imported premium brands. In most cities in China, consumers like to drink imported premium beers at bars for it demonstrates a sophisticated and fashionable image to others. Based on Euromonitor s storechecks, a 330ml Corona costs RMB30 in an on-trade outlet which is probably 400% higher than what it costs to buy at a supermarket.

As lighter flavours became increasingly popular in beer, low-alcohol beer became popular amongst women in the review period. This kind of beer is priced low as it competes mainly with soft drinks, which makes these products accessible t a larger group of consumers. Fruit flavours such as pineapple are often added to the products to appeal to young and female consumers. Low-alcohol beer in China is typically 0.5% proof or lower.

Stout and dark beer are still negligible in China in 2007, mainly due to the heavy taste and dark colour of these drinks. Moreover, the fermented process of dark beer and stout is complicated for domestic players. Guinness is the main imported stout brand in China and is mainly sold in on-trade channels, such as pubs and bars. In the end of 2006, Guinness first began to enter convenience stores in developed cities such as Guangzhou and Shenzhen in South China, targeting foreigners and expatriates.

Production, Imports and Exports

According to the latest released data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the total volume of beer production in China was 35.2 billion litres in 2006, 15% growth from the previous year. The country s alcoholic drinks industry association noted that per capita beer consumption stood at 37 litres in 2006, which indicated that China continued to hold the top spot globally for both producing and consuming beer for the fifth consecutive year.

Imports of beer amounted to 21 million litres in 2007, signifying a slight decrease on 2005. The main reason is the fast development of domestic beer. Both of the technique in production and quality of beer were improved a lot in the past few years. Currently, the taste and quality of domestic beer is good enough to be accepted by local consumers. On the other side, the major international breweries have set up their production bases in China. For example, Heineken, Coors and Kirin all have produced beer products domestically.

In 2006 the exports of beer amounted to 176 million litres, representing a 20% growth rate. Currently the leading domestic beer giants are eyeing the global market in addition to expanding across China. Tsingtao and Yanjing both sell their products to overseas market.

Imported lager are usually positioned as premium products with higher unit prices and mainly sold in on-trade channels, such as pubs and bars. However, with the fashionable lifestyle and culture for an enjoyable night out, imported lager is only available in big cites and appeals to a small group of consumers. Compared to imported lager, domestic lager is regarded as fresher due to the closer proximity of manufacturing based and, most importantly, is much cheaper.

Trade statistics estimate apparent consumption at around 35 billion litres in 2006, close to Euromonitor s data for beer in the year.

Why buy this report - Get insight into trends in market performance - Pinpoint growth sectors and identify factors driving change - Identify market and brand leaders and understand the competitive environment

Product coverage - Dark beer; Lager by origin; Lager by price platform; Low/non-alcohol beer; Stout

Key Topics Covered:

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Strong market performance driven by economic growth

Domestic players rise to lead the market

More foreign companies stirs up the competitive environment

Specialist shops start to catch attention

Forecast growth expects to be flat due to market consolidation

KEY TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS

Strong demand drives prices up

Olympic game starts to pre-heat the market

Polarised consumer preference prevails

Growing number of young drinking consumers

Modern lifestyles brings more occasions on which to consumer alcoholic drinks

Specialist Retailers

Summary 1 Leading Specialist Retailers 2006

Market Merger and Acquisition Activity

Summary 2 Speculated Merger and Acquisition Activity 2006-2007

TERRITORY KEY TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS

East China Mid China North and Northeast China Northwest China South China Southwest China

MARKET BACKGROUND

Legislation

TAXATION AND DUTY LEVIES

Summary 3 Taxation and Duty Levies on Alcoholic Drinks 2007

Table 1 Typical Wholesaler and Retailer Off-trade Mark-ups by Selected Sectors 2007

Table 2 Selling Margin of a Typical Domestically Produced Beer Brand 2007

Table 3 Selling Margin of a Typical Domestically Produced Wine Brand 2007

Table 4 Selling Margin of a Typical Imported Wine Brand 2007

Table 5 Selling Margin of a Typical Domestically Produced Spirits Brand 2007

Table 6 Selling Margin of a Typical Imported Spirits Brand 2007

OPERATING ENVIRONMENT

MARKET INDICATORS

Table 7 Retail Consumer Expenditure on Alcoholic Drinks 2002-2007

MARKET DATA

Table 8 Sales of Alcoholic Drinks by Sector: Total Volume 2002-2007

Table 9 Sales of Alcoholic Drinks by Sector: Total Value 2002-2007

Table 10 Sales of Alcoholic Drinks by Sector: % Total Volume Growth 2002-2007

Table 11 Sales of Alcoholic Drinks by Sector: % Total Value Growth 2002-2007

Table 12 Sales of Alcoholic Drinks by Sector by On-trade vs Off-trade split: Volume 2007

Table 13 Sales of Alcoholic Drinks by Sector by On-trade vs Off-trade split: Value 2007

Table 14 Sales of Alcoholic Drinks by Sector by On-trade vs Off-trade split: % Volume 2007 Table 15 Sales of Alcoholic Drinks by Sector by On-trade vs Off-trade split: % Value 2007

Table 16 Sales of Alcoholic Drinks by Region: Total Volume 2002-2007

Table 17 Sales of Alcoholic Drinks by Region: Total Value 2002-2007

Table 18 Sales of Alcoholic Drinks by Region: % Total Volume Growth 2002-2007

Table 19 Sales of Alcoholic Drinks by Region: % Total Value Growth 2002-2007

Table 20 Company Shares of Alcoholic Drinks by Global Brand Owner 2003-2006

Table 21 Off-trade Sales of Alcoholic Drinks by Distribution Format: % Value Analysis 2007 Table 22 Off-trade Sales of Alcoholic Drinks by Sector and Distribution Format: % Volume Analysis 2007

Table 23 Forecast Sales of Alcoholic Drinks by Sector: Total Volume 2007-2012

Table 24 Forecast Sales of Alcoholic Drinks by Sector: Total Value 2007-2012

Table 25 Forecast Sales of Alcoholic Drinks by Sector: % Total Volume Growth 2007-2012

Table 26 Forecast Sales of Alcoholic Drinks by Sector: % Total Value Growth 2007-2012

Table 27 Forecast Sales of Alcoholic Drinks by Region: Total Volume 2007-2012

Table 28 Forecast Sales of Alcoholic Drinks by Region: Total Value 2007-2012

Table 29 Forecast Sales of Alcoholic Drinks by Region: % Total Volume Growth 2007-2012

Table 30 Forecast Sales of Alcoholic Drinks by Region: % Total Value Growth 2007-2012

DEFINITIONS

Sources

Summary 4 Research Sources

LOCAL COMPANY PROFILES - CHINA

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

PROSPECTS

SECTOR BACKGROUND

Lager Price Band Methodology

Summary 40 Lager by Price Band 2007

Published Data Comparisons

SECTOR DATA

Table 31 Sales of Beer by Subsector: Total Volume 2002-2007

Table 32 Sales of Beer by Subsector: Total Value 2002-2007

Table 33 Sales of Beer by Subsector: % Total Volume Growth 2002-2007

Table 34 Sales of Beer by Subsector: % Total Value Growth 2002-2007

Table 35 Sales of Beer by On-trade vs Off-trade split: Volume 2002-2007

Table 36 Sales of Beer by On-trade vs Off-trade split: Value 2002-2007

Table 37 Sales of Beer by On-trade vs Off-trade split: % Volume Growth 2002-2007

Table 38 Sales of Beer by On-trade vs Off-trade split: % Value Growth 2002-2007

Table 39 Beer: Production, Imports and Exports: Total Volume 2001-2006

Table 40 Beer Exports by Country of Destination: Total Volume 2001-2006

Table 41 Beer Exports by Country of Destination: Total Value 2001-2006

Table 42 Beer Imports by Country of Origin: Total Volume 2001-2006

Table 43 Beer Imports by Country of Origin: Total Value 2001-2006

Table 44 Company Shares of Beer by National Brand Owner 2002-2006

Table 45 Company Shares of Beer by Global Brand Owner 2002-2006

Table 46 Brand Shares of Beer 2003-2006

Table 47 Forecast Sales of Beer by Subsector: Total Volume 2007-2012

Table 48 Forecast Sales of Beer by Subsector: Total Value 2007-2012

Table 49 Forecast Sales of Beer by Subsector: % Total Volume Growth 2007-2012

Table 50 Forecast Sales of Beer by Subsector: % Total Value Growth 2007-2012

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/38d53a/beer_in_china_08

Source: Euromonitor International

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