Earlier this week, China Resources Beer, the joint-owner of Snow with SABMiller, released its full-year results for 2015. The company will soon gain full control of Snow after it agreed a deal with Anheuser-Busch InBev this month, so here’s the low-down on the brand and its soon-to-be sole owner, using data from CR Beer’s investors presentation.
- Snow lost 1% in volumes last year but it remains the world’s biggest-selling beer brand by volume, a position it has held since 2008
- Margins increased by 9% as the company managed to move up the value chain
- Some 49% of sales volumes came from the above-mainstream segment, which comprises beers that retail for more than CNY5 (US$0.80) per 50cl. In 2012, the above-mainstream category accounted for 29% of CRB’s volumes
- Snow now has a presence in 24 of China’s 35 regions. CR Snow – the SAB and CRB JV – has added four new breweries in the past 12 months (and lost one), taking its total to 97
- China’s beer market is more fragmented than most, but it is consolidating – in 2005 the top five held a volume share of 47.3%, while in 2014 it was 70.9%
- In 2014, CR Snow boasted a 23% share of volumes in China, ahead of Tsingtao Brewery’s 18.4%. Anheuser-Busch InBev was third with 14% and Beijing Yanjing Brewery fourth with 10.7%. Carlsberg was fifth with 4.6%
- Since 1994, when CR Snow was first set up, the company has enjoyed a compound annual growth rate for turnover of 26%
Has Anheuser-Busch InBev sold CR Snow for too little? – Click here for a just-drinks analysis
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