Death of Thai tycoon sparks bullish worries for Red Bull
Not sure if Red Bull gives wings to people, but lots of people give wings to Red Bull's turnover. Publishing its 2011 results in March 2011, Red Bull said a total of 4.6 billion cans of the energy drink were sold worldwide in 2011, representing an increase of 11.4 percent over 2010. Turnover rose 12.4 percent to EUR 4.3 billion year-on-year.
The privately-owned company does not release any profit figures.
All Red Bull would say was that sales had gone up in key markets like the U.S. (+11%) and Germany (+10%), and in markets like Turkey (+86%), Japan (+62%), France (+35%) and Scandinavia (+34%). Red Bull's products are sold in over 160 countries.
Although sales of Red Bull’s energy drink have soared, branching out into other beverage segments has proven difficult. Last year, the company decided to stop selling Simply Cola – a soft drink free from artificial flavours and preservatives – in the United States. The firm did not explain the move but American media reported at the time that sales of the drink were devastatingly low ever since it was placed on shop shelves.
Already in 2010, the German business publication Manager Magazin had wondered what would become of the Red Bull company, once the CEO Dietrich Mateschitz, 68, retires or will have to relinquish the day-to-day running of Red Bull.
It argued that Mr Mateschitz' partner, the family of Thai patriarch Chaleo Yoovidhya, who invented Red Bull, might lay claim to his role. Until now the Thais have not taken on operational roles at Red Bull – not least because of the profound cultural differences between their traditional Thai family business and the formidable Austrian marketing machine.
But speculations have swirled around again as to who will run Red Bull in the future following the death of Mr Yoovidhya on 17 March 2012, aged 89. Mr Yoovidhya was married twice and – reportedly – has eleven children. Usually rather media-shy, Mr Mateschitz felt compelled to tell the Austrian news agency APA that Mr Yoovidhya's passing will not impact the company at all.
The Thai tycoon, whose personal fortune Forbes magazine put at USD 5 billion, was the low-key partner behind the iconic energy drink Red Bull. He developed the drink's formula while the Austrian Mateschitz, whom he partnered in 1984, created the marketing buzz. Like Mr Mateschitz, Mr Yoovidhya owned 49 percent of the company. His son Chalerm has 2 percent.
In its obituary The New York Times newspaper on 18 March 2012 wrote that with little formal education, Mr Yoovidhya founded a small pharmaceutical company, TC Pharmaceutical Industries, in the early 1960s. He started producing antibiotics but later turned to concocting a beverage that was loaded with caffeine, as well as an amino acid called taurine and a carbohydrate called glucuronolactone.
Branded "Krathing Daeng" — “red bull” in Thai — it was marketed to laborers and truckers in need of a boost. Only Mr Mateschitz saw the product's potential and, having coined the slogan “Red Bull gives you wings”, he succeeded in taking the drink international.
