CR Beer confirms it is looking for an international beer brand
China Resources Beer is negotiating partnerships with foreign brewers as it hopes to sell more premium beers, according to its CEO Hou Xiaohai. He hopes that a tie-up with an overseas brewer will help China’s major brewer to move upmarket, Mr Hou told an earnings conference on 21 March 2018.
CR Beer, whose leading brand is Snow beer, seeks to acquire premium global brands, the CEO said, while declining to comment on rumours that CR Beer is in talks to buy Dutch brewer Heineken's Chinese business, as was reported earlier.
Although the Chinese beer market remains the world’s largest, beer consumption has declined for four straight years through 2017, as the economy slowed and consumer tastes grew more diverse.
Mr Hou added that his company will work to raise its domestic market share from the current level of just below 30 percent.
CR Beer’s turnover in 2017 climbed 3.6 percent on the year to 29.7 billion yuan (USD 4.7 billion), helped by rising sales of mid-price and premium products. Net profit climbed 87 percent to 1.17 billion yuan (USD 190 million) after the purchase of SABMiller’s 49 percent stake in their dissolved joint venture.
