Heineken's Zywiec buys regional brewer Namyslow
Grupa Zywiec, the number two brewer in Poland, on 14 November 2018 announced signing an agreement with Chicago Poland Investment Group on the purchase of Browar Namyslow, one of the largest regional breweries in Poland, for PLN 500 million (EUR 116 million/USD 132 million). The transaction is pending regulatory approval. Browar Namyslow owns two breweries: in Namyslow, south-western Poland and Braniewo, northern Poland. Among its brands are Namyslow, Braniewo, Zamkowe, a budget beer brand, and Kuflowe.
The beer market in Poland is already rather saturated, with annual beer consumption hovering around 37 million hl (98 litres per capita) since 2012, according to data by the Brewers of Europe, a trade group. As the top three brewers – Kompania Piwowarska/Asahi, Zywiec/Heineken and Carlsberg – control over 80 percent of the market, they find it increasingly difficult to realise notable sales increases organically.
There are now over 200 breweries, catering to consumers, who are looking for a greater diversity of flavours and beer styles. Hence, specialty beers and regional beers remain the fastest growing segments in the market.
"We are happy that Browar Namyslow will soon join Grupa Zywiec. We admire their existing achievements of its board and the staff in building their brand and strong position among regional breweries," Guillaume Duverdier, CEO of Grupa Zywiec was quoted as saying.
Namyslow has an interesting history, as it was one of the few Polish breweries which were revived after World War II. It was turned into an employee-owned company in the early 1990s before being sold to Michael Gostomski and two investors in 1999. His son, Ryan Gostomski, initially served as brewmaster and later as president of Namyslow.
Michael Gostomski, 77, who stems from Minnesota, USA, managed to hike annual production from less than 300,000 hl to reportedly 1.8 million hl beer over the past two decades, while turning the company from a local/regional brewer in the south to a national player with new brands. To this end, they bought a second brewery in Braniewo, in the north of the country, which incidentally had once been owned by Zywiec. Zywiec closed it down in 2001. Several owners tried to revive the plant but ultimately gave up on it in 2008. It was acquired by Namyslow in 2014.
Although competition in the Polish beer market is tough, Namyslow managed to move its eponymous brand from a regional to a national brand, and gain market share, which would have made them an attractive takeover target.
Stock market-listed Grupa Zywiec is the number two brewer in Poland with an annual production of over 11million hl beer. The company runs five breweries and is affiliated with Dutch Heineken.
