Economic Herald reporter Jiang Wang
In Li Qingzhao's hometown of Jinan Zhangqiu, China Resources Beer wants to play a big game. On August 24, China Resources Beer (Jinan) Co., Ltd., wholly owned by China Resources Snowflake Beer (China) Investment Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "China Resources Snowflake"), was formally established in Zhangqiu with a registered capital of up to 600 million yuan. The Economic Herald reporter noted that this is also following the cancellation of China Resources Snowflake Beer (Shandong) Co., Ltd. in 2019, and China Resources Snowflake has once again stepped into the boundaries of Shandong.
For the new production capacity in Zhangqiu, Jinan, Hou Xiaohai, general manager of China Resources Snowflake, called this a move to build a "big factory", and in the more than 6 years he was at the helm of China Resources Snowflake, the number of factories closed has reached about 30.
For the integration of china resources snowflakes in Shandong after the completion and operation of the Jinan plant, the Economic Herald reporter sent an interview email to China Resources Beer (00291.hk) on August 27, but as of press time has not received a reply.
Complete the east, middle and west layout in Lu
The establishment of a subsidiary in Shandong by China Resources Snowflake is related to a signing in Jinan a month ago. On July 22 this year, the Zhangqiu District Government and the Mingshui Economic and Technological Development Zone signed a project framework agreement and a project investment contract with China Resources Snowflake Investment respectively. The total investment of the China Resources Snow Beer Factory project signed this time is not less than 1.3 billion yuan, the construction scale is 100,000 square meters, the total accumulated tax payment within 8 years is not less than 2 billion yuan, and the annual production capacity of the first phase is 700,000 kiloliters.
In this regard, beer marketing expert Fang Gang said that snowflake beer in Shandong sales of about 600,000 kiloliters, the market share of about 20%, there is a certain market foundation, the starting point for the construction of a new factory in Jinan is capacity integration and optimization. He believes that when the Jinan factory is completed, CHINA RESOURCES Snowflake may close the two factories in Liaocheng and Binzhou, and concentrate production capacity and resources on the new plant in Jinan.
After Yanjing Beer was replaced, China Resources Snowflake, Tsingtao Beer and Chongqing Beer became the three new leaders of Chinese beer, of which Shandong is undoubtedly the base camp of Tsingtao Beer, and the other two giants do not penetrate much here. Tianyancha disclosed that there are a total of 106 foreign-invested enterprises (including deregistered enterprises) of China Resources Snowflake, and in addition to the above-mentioned deregistered Shandong company registered in Yantai, it also has subsidiaries in Binzhou and Liaocheng.
Public reports show that China Resources Beer first entered Shandong in 2008. In October of that year, led by the Zouping County Government, Amber Beer reached an acquisition agreement with China Resources Snowflake. In February 2009, the restructuring plan was approved, and China Resources Snowflake invested 285 million yuan to acquire amber brewery as a whole, and registered capital of 180 million yuan to establish China Resources Snowflake Beer (Binzhou) Company.
According to the first financial report, according to the agreement, after two years, China Resources Snowflake will buy back 10% of the shares held by the management of Amber Beer. However, just a few months later, CR Snowflake bought back the remaining shares at a premium of 63 million yuan, and Amber Beer became a wholly-owned subsidiary of CR Snowflake.
Shortly thereafter, China Resources Beer continued to sell in Shandong, first acquiring Liaocheng Xinshuicheng Beer, establishing China Resources (Liaocheng) Beer Co., Ltd., and then going deep into the Jiaodong Peninsula to build a new factory in Yantai Fushan District, which was put into operation at the end of 2010. With the help of the above acquisition and new construction, Snowflake completed the layout of "east, middle and west" three regions in Shandong.
After many years, Wang Qun, the former vice chairman of China Resources Snowflake and known as the company's "soul figure", publicly stated that the construction of the factory in Yantai was an important step for Snowflake to build a complete distribution network in the eastern coastal area of China. He also said that the construction and mergers and acquisitions of China Resources Snowflake are like buying vegetables, which is not as complicated as the outside world imagines.
Building a "big factory" in Ji
In 2016, Wang Qun suddenly announced his retirement, and Hou Xiaohai, who is also a veteran of China Resources Beer, walked to the front of the stage. As a result, China Resources Beer also ended the expansion pace of the Wang Qun era, and entered the contraction stage during the period when Hou Xiaohai was at the helm.
Public reports show that after Hou Xiaohai took charge of China Resources Beer, he closed nearly 20 factories across the country, leaving about 78. In 2020, four more breweries were discontinued, reducing the number of breweries to 70, and employing 27,000 at the end of 2020, another 3,000 fewer than the 30,000 at the end of 2019.
On August 18, China Resources Beer released its first-half results, which showed that as of the end of June, China Resources Beer operated 68 breweries in 25 provinces, municipalities and districts in China, with an annual production capacity of about 18.7 million kiloliters. At the end of 2016, the above figures were still 98, with an annual production capacity of about 22 million kiloliters.
Hou Xiaohai said at the recent media communication meeting that the closure of the factory is no longer the key strategy of China Resources Beer, and it is a very normal work in the overall capacity planning and capacity arrangement, and now it is more about the rearrangement of production capacity. China Resources Beer is building new large factories, such as the Jinan plant.
When signing the contract in Zhangqiu in July, Hou Xiaohai also appeared at the signing ceremony, thanked Jinan City and Zhangqiu District for their continued support, and said that in the next step, it will carry forward the spirit of Snowflake Beer's perseverance and excellence, adhere to high standards and high quality in the process of promoting the project, and after the formal operation, it will provide quality products and services to consumers.
Or at the same time, the liquor end
In addition to beer, CR Snowflake also has contact with Shandong on the liquor side.
In late March this year, Hou Xiaohai visited Tian Qingying, secretary of the municipal party committee, and Weifang media reported that during the meeting, the two sides conducted in-depth exchanges on cooperation between China Resources Beer and Jingzhi Liquor.
In the same month, at the conference call for the release of China Resources Beer's 2020 annual report results, Hou Xiaohai said that the management of China Resources Beer decided to explore and select limited diversified industries and categories during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period to fully release the management, brand and channel network capabilities of Snowflake Beer. These categories include liquors, low-alcohol pre-mixed liquors and fruity liquors.
"Snowflake Beer has 14,000 large customers and more than 4 million retail terminals in the country, and in terms of channel network management, Snowflake Beer has a relatively certain competitive advantage." Hou Xiaohai believes that limited diversification will not only give play to the channel capabilities of China Resources Beer, but also enable beer to achieve more profitability, establish a stronger network and cultivate more talents.
At the above-mentioned media communication meeting, Hou Xiaohai publicly responded, saying that CR Beer formulated a strategy for the diversified development of liquor during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, and liquor is the first choice for diversification strategy, and it is also a strategy that CR Snowflake Beer has focused on landing in the opening year of the "14th Five-Year Plan".
According to the latest news, on August 26, China Resources Liquor Holdings Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China Resources Beer, entered into an agreement with Shandong Jingzhi Liquor Co., Ltd. and Shandong Jingzhi Liquor Co., Ltd. on the proposed investment of liquor holdings in the target company through capital injection. The exact amount of the investment will be implemented with reference to the valuation of the target company.
The Economic Herald reporter interviewed and learned that at the signing ceremony, Hou Xiaohai said, "The next ten years is a decade of liquor quality and brand development, and the liquor industry has ushered in new development opportunities." This strategic cooperation marks that CR Beer has entered the liquor market and taken a solid step on the road of diversified growth, with the complementary advantages of the two sides, which will form a 'win-win' situation of superposition empowerment and win-win development, and boost the faster and higher quality development of China's liquor market. ”