Japan: Kirin plans to cash in 30% of beer sales income from shipments to overseas by 2015

Kirin Brewery Company Ltd. is seemingly about to make use of its Chinese operations in order to ship beer which was initially brewed for the South Korean beer market. As reports say, Kirin’ Ichiban Shibori brand will be brewed by its Chinese affiliates in order to make China the production ground for all Asian beer markets in which Kirin identified commercial interest, Japanese media released.

The brewer’s company strategy is also designed to allow Kirin to generate 30% of its sales income form overseas beer markets by 2015, or the domestic beer market is now hardly recovering from a stagnation phase.

As beer sales fall 50% bellow of the market for five of the most important Japanese breweries, they decided to put their highlighting on low-alcohol drinks, like the chuhai market section which courses a boom period.

Kirin Brewery Company, Ltd. is one of Japan’s biggest brewers of beer and is most widely recognized as a leading brewer of some of the best beer brands on the market today. Kirin Brewery Co., Ltd. currently ranks eighth among the top beer marketers worldwide while the company's flagship beer brand, Kirin Lager, currently ranks as the fourth largest in the world. Kirin holds a marketshare of nearly 40% in Japan.

In Japan, Kirin Brewery Co., Ltd. currently has 15 breweries, two hop centers, a pharmaceutical plant, four research laboratories and 17 regional sales offices. Key subsidiaries include Budweiser Japan, Heineken Japan, Kirin Seagram, Kirin Beverage, Yokohama Arena (concert hall like Madison Square Garden), and, Kinki Coca-Cola Bottling Company.

Worldwide, Kirin Beer is enjoyed in over 40 countries, particularly in North America, Europe and Asia. Kirin has production facilities in the United States, the United Kingdom, Shenyang, Zhuhai and Hong Kong.

In 1997, Kirin USA, Inc., opened a new US$8 million brewing facility with Anheuser-Busch in Los Angeles. Kirin's American headquarters are located in Santa Monica, California.

Kirin's worldwide joint ventures are not limited to beer production alone, however. Over 300 other beverage products that are offered in Japan fall into other categories such as soft drinks, tea, coffee, wine and spirits.

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