Doctor Diesel

Who would have thought that Larnaca airport on the island of Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean offers almost daily flights to such far flung places as Yekaterinburg in the Urals? Not to mention direct flights to Moscow and St Petersburg. Yet on most days the airport’s waiting area is filled with women who sport blond beehives the size of their shopping bags. Accompanied by men who’ll be wearing the uniform outfit of new Russian “businessmeny” – garishly coloured shell suits – these formidable ladies will eventually embark on their plane chattering away while the locals will heave yet another sigh of relief.

The lure of a billion customers

With beer output continuing to rise in the high single digits, SABMiller, Heineken, InBev and Anheuser-Busch are pondering more plant buys in China. With annual sales of about 270 million hl, China has become the world’s number one beer market yet profits are low, especially since brewers struggle with an estimated 20 percent of overcapacity.

Just fancy that

Australian business etiquette has always been straightforward: no beating about the bush, or subtle approaches. It’s right between the eyes, mate, or nothing. In that respect, Lion Nathan’s hostile takeover bid for the Coopers Brewery follows a well-established tradition.

Tinkoff sells brewing business

Gives a new meaning to the bouncer’s question: "Is that gun in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?" At St Petersburg’s Tinkoff brewpub they ask you for your coat - and for that piece of metal that some of their more discerning punters were carrying under their jackets. Once you have made it past the bouncers, the sharp-eyed security guys and the metal detector, you have entered a first-class brewpub in that cosmopolitan style that’s all the rage with Russia’s "businessmeni". Oleg Tinkov, the man behind the brewpub restaurant business has now sold his breweries to InBev for EUR 167 million. The Tinkoff restaurant business is not a part of the deal and Oleg Tinkov will retain it for himself. ...

Making the best of a good opportunity

SABMiller, the world’s second-largest brewer, plans to spend more than USD 125 million on expanding breweries and building brands in India as economic growth boosts demand for beer in Asia’s fourth-biggest economy.The five-year investment plan was revealed only a few weeks after London-based SABMiller bought out its joint venture partner in India to gain control of the country’s second-largest beer maker. The money will also be used to step up marketing and improve the standard of barley it uses in India. Consumers in India, which has a population of more than 1 billion people, drink just 1 litre of beer per person every year so there is ample of hope that this will change over time. ...

A toast to that

Q: Which wine brand is the single largest selling Australian wine in the world? A: No, it’s not Jacob’s Creek, first launched in 1976 and owned by Pernod-Ricard. It’s the brand Yellow Tail which is produced by Casella Wines in New South Wales, a family-owned wine company. Their Yellow Tail brand sold 7.5 million cases last year and projected a 30 percent increase in sales this year while Jacob’s Creek achieved sales of 7.1 million cases and recorded a 16 percent increase in the first quarter this year. Yellow Tale started its winery in 2001 with forecasted sales to the U.S. of 25,000 cases. In the end, it sold 500,000 cases that year. The following year sales jumped to 2.2 million cases and have spiralled rapidly higher ever since. While Yellow Tail’s major market is the U.S.S..

Reality check

The Foster’s Group has begun a radical overhaul of its business structure, management and sales teams following the EUR 1.9 billion takeover of its rival Southcorp in June. The deal has turned Foster’s into the world’s biggest listed producer of premium wines and created a multi-beverages behemoth that will have its labels on 45 per cent of all alcohol drunk in Australia.
Foster’s Chief Executive Trevor O’Hoy was quoted as saying: "This is the dream transaction, not only in global premium wine but in terms of what we can do here in Australia. We can build this business model that no other competitor can follow, and that will be the ultimate edge we have.6 billion and a share of the domestic market of 28.5 percent by value..

What a year it was

Despite of a decade-long spending spree by Japan's government to put some oomph back into the economy, the Japanese are still waiting for a turn-around. That's why Japan's top brewers have had to resort to cost-cutting measures to secure their profits in a shrinking domestic beer market. Their initiatives seem to have paid off as number one Asahi Breweries, the second-ranking Kirin Brewery Co. and number three Sapporo Holdings all reported strong earings for 2004. ..

More growth and efficiency using modern process automation

Ten weeks from signing contract to switch-over - within this tight schedule, a team from Siemens AG replaced the whole automation equipment in a brewhouse at the largest Chinese brewing group. Production was resumed after only three days downtime, using Siemens Braumat.

Beer has been brewed successfully in Qingdao (Tsingtao) for over 100 years. This is evidenced not only by some medals won, the commercial success is also remarkable. Tsingtao Brewery Group was the first Chinese company to get a listing at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Currently, the Group is the largest brewer in China, with an annual output of 18.6 million hl (2000). The objectives are also pitched accordingly high: the Tsingtao Brewery Group has a long-term objective to be rated among the Top Ten worldwide. ...

You, too?

In the old days you did what you wanted to do and then you talked about it. Today, you follow Carlsberg’s example. Words first, then perhaps - the deeds. As was reported, Carlsberg plans to get involved in wholesale trading of its brand in India as a first step of setting up operations in the country. Some approach to entering one of the most complex markets in the world, especially since Carlsberg’s competitors have already erected their power bases there and control almost 80 percent of the market. ..