Business

Acquiring a local company or developing a new brand are both options for Molson Coors Brewing Co as it eyes the less expensive near-premium beer market in China, said John Zhang, general manager, China operation, of the North American brewer.

By near-premium, Zhang referred to bars in second- or third-tier cities and top restaurants.

Molson Coors has been focusing on the premium market - bars in first-tier cities - since it set up its representative office in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province in 1998.

The company has recorded up to 50 percent growth a year since 2003, when its product lines in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, started to serve the market under the Coors Light brand. Before 2003, Molson Coors had mainly been testing the Chinese market.

The robust Chinese economy and a changing lifestyle with a rich nightlife have combined to support the growing beer consumption, Zhang said, adding the same changes are under way at second-tier cities as well.

About 95 percent of Molson Coors’ clients in China are bars and the rest international supermarket chains, he said, adding Molson Coors is among the top three in the premium market in China.

But the company is reviewing its China strategy to go deeper into the market. The near-premium market, with a sales volume of about 1.5 million tons a year, is about three times larger than the premium market in China, he said.

Zhang expects Molson Coors to maintain its growth momentum in the country in the coming years.

(China Daily July 2, 2008)