Online deliveries help Carlsberg China keep sales buoyant in world’s largest market
- Digital channels will be a key strategy beyond pandemic, Carlsberg China president Lee Chee Kong says
- China, which generated US$24 billion in beer sales in 2019, is the Danish multinational’s biggest market
“We see digitalisation as one of our strategic priorities. In the post Covid-19 era, we will increase our investment in diversifying our distribution channels, especially in e-commerce,” Lee said.
China has become the biggest market for Carlsberg, a Danish multinational company that is also the world’s third-largest brewer. The country consumed about 38 million kilolitres of beer in 2019 – the most globally – data from China Alcoholic Drinks Association shows, generating sales revenue of 158.1 billion yuan (US$24.4 billion). China also produced 37.7 million kilolitres that year, around a fifth of the world’s total production.
The US, with 23.9 million kilolitres, and Brazil, with 12.4 million kilolitres, were the second and third-biggest consumers of beer in 2019, respectively.
Consumption per capita in 2019 stood at 27.1 litres, behind the more than 60 litres per capita in countries such as the US, Mexico and Brazil, data from research firm GlobalData shows.
By working closely with on-demand delivery platforms such as Meituan, Ele.me, which is backed by this newspaper’s owner, Alibaba Group Holding, and JD-Daojia under Dada Nexus, in which JD Group has a 46.5 per cent stake, the brewer was able to report 21 per cent growth in operating profit and 3 per cent growth in volume last year. The overall industry’s sales volume, however, declined during this period, especially during the first half of 2020.
Many brewers maintain online flagship stores on Chinese online retail platform Tmall, the e-commerce platform of Alibaba, and JD.com.
Last year, all 26 breweries were powered by renewable electricity, which equalled a reduction of about 90,000 tonnes of carbon emissions, or 65,000 small sedans being off the road for a year, the company says on its China website.