Sales volumes
Kompania Piwowarska (KP), a subsidiary of one of the largest global brewers, SABMiller, announces its sales results for the 6 months ended 30th June 2009. As expected, sales for the first six months (January – June) of the calendar year 2009, were lower than in the same period last year and amounted to 7.2 million hl. KP has incurred a decline in sales of 4%, while the entire Polish brewing industry witnessed a decline of 12% (with total domestic volumes of 15.9 million hl).
Managing Director comment
Gary Haigh, the managing director of Kompania Piwowarska said: “The sales slowdown in the whole beer category started in the fall of last year with the advent of the global economic crisis. The dramatic increase of the excise tax rate in March 2009 undermined what were already weaker opportunities for growth and helped push the industry into decline. In this unfavourable environment our market share has been growing, as the rest of the industry has declined more than KP. I strongly believe the companies that will be successful long-term are those that react quickest to market changes, hence we have taken steps aimed at improving the efficiency of our manufacturing and distribution networks.”
Brand performance and market shares (January – June 2009)
In line with our strategy we have supported strongly our brands and as a result they continued to grow their market shares. Tyskie, the largest Polish beer brand, increased its market share to 17.9% (vs. 16.4% last year), while Żubr, the second best selling Polish beer, increased its market share to 13.9% (vs. 12.9%). Lech grew its share in the market from 7.3% last year to 7.8% in 2009. The total market share of Kompania Piwowarska increased in the period of six months ended June 30th, 2009 to 44.9% (up from 41.2% in the relevant period of the previous year).
During the high season our brands continued to attract consumers through high profile events and activations. Tyskie brand celebrated the International Year of Beer with beer festivals held in 65 cities and towns, which were visited by the “Tyskie convoy”. Nearly 300,000 consumers participated in these celebrations. The beer festival was an important element of a 360º activation comprising also strong ATL communication, consumer promotions and loyalty programs for retail.
Żubr (meaning ‘Bison’) carried out a few unique consumer activations including a communication program in which a few dozen Polish cities were populated with real size bison models, placed in public parks and lawns as well as a massive consumer campaign in ca. 50 thousand points of sales which resulted in direct, personal contacts with nearly 2 million consumers.
Prior to high season Lech introduced refreshed, more contemporary packaging attracting young adult consumers, for whom also summer activations were held along the Baltic coast in cooperation with national television, thus leveraging these events with multimillion tv audiences.
The economy brand, Wojak, acquired in 2008 and relaunched later that year, performed exceptionally well tripling its sales volume.
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About Kompania Piwowarska - leader of the Polish beer industry
Kompania Piwowarska is the largest brewer in Poland. Hundreds of years of experience in brewing, state-of-the-art technology and rigorous adherence to the World Class Manufacturing principles guarantee the highest quality beer. The company's product portfolio includes Tyskie - Poles' favorite beer, Żubr - the second largest Polish beer brand, Lech, Dębowe Mocne, Redd's, Wojak and international premium brands Pilsner Urquell, Peroni Nastro Azzurro and Miller Genuine Draft. Kompania Piwowarska was established in 1999 as a result of a merger of Tyskie Browary Książęce and Lech Browary Wielkopolski. In 2003 Dojlidy Brewery in Białystok was acquired by KP and in 2008 a brewery in Kielce. In the fiscal year F09, ended on 31 March 2009, KP sales volume amounted to 15.1 mill hectoliters.
About SABMiller – one of the largest brewers in the world
Kompania Piwowarska is part of SABMiller plc. SABMiller plc is one of the world's largest brewers with brewing interests or distribution agreements across six continents. The group's wide portfolio of brands includes premium international beers such as Grolsch, Miller Genuine Draft, Peroni Nastro Azzurro and Pilsner Urquell, as well as market-leading local brands such as Aquila, Castle, Miller Lite, Snow and Tyskie. SABMiller is also one of the largest Coca Cola bottlers outside the US. In the year ended on 31 March 2009 the group reported US$ 3.4 billion in adjusted pre-tax profit and group revenue of US$ 25.3 billion. SABMiller plc is listed on the London and Johannesburg stock exchanges.
Further enquiries:
Paweł Kwiatkowski
Corporate Affairs Director, the company spokesman
KOMPANIA PIWOWARSKA SA
11 Szwajcarska St., 61-285 Poznań
Tel. +48 61 66 77 509
Fax +48 61 66 77 881
Cell phone +48 601 599 198
pawel.kwiatkowski@kp.sabmiller.com
www.kp.pl
