E-Malt.com News article: UK & Singapore: Tiger Beer UK is established in United Kingdom

Asia Pacific Breweries Limited (APB) announced on May 13 it is stepping up on solidifying its burgeoning position outside of Asia, as it presses on with its next wave of expansion efforts through mergers and acquisitions in strategic markets and extending the footprint of its flagship brand, Tiger Beer, globally. Even with its continual focus on the world's largest beer market - China, APB is not about to lose sight of the potential of its export markets.

In sync with one of its missions to develop Tiger Beer into a leading Pan-Asian brand, APB today announced the establishment of a new entity, Tiger Beer UK Ltd (Tiger Beer UK) under its export subsidiary, Tiger Export Pte Ltd (TEPL), to focus on spearheading the marketing, sales and distribution of Tiger Beer in the United Kingdom (UK).

Having made its maiden entry into the UK market more than 30 years ago, APB's export growth has been consistently led by Tiger Beer's strong performance in the UK which grew by an average annual rate of 32% for the past five years.

To further enhance the success of Tiger Beer there, Tiger Beer UK will be leveraging on the strong distribution network, sales and marketing expertise that have been built up through the years. This new outfit will also provide APB the desired control over the development of its brands.

Explaining how this move dovetails APB's ongoing quest to make Tiger Beer a leader amongst Asian brands, Mr Koh Poh Tiong, Chief Executive Officer, APB, said, "The formation of Tiger Beer UK is significant for APB as it is the first time that APB directly oversees the sales and marketing of Tiger Beer in the UK and Europe. Setting up Tiger Beer UK to focus on the brand ensures a 100% commitment to its growth. In the long term, Tiger Beer UK will take on the role of regional office not only for UK but also for the Europe market."

The British beer drinkers have found Tiger Beer to be an exotic and fascinating beer. Coupled with the brand's endearing contemporary Asian spirit, it has not only won over many discerning drinkers but also earned itself some noteworthy accolades in the UK. Not only has it grown from a minor player in the Chinese restaurant trade to a strong contender in the packaged beer category, this authentic Singapore brand can now be found in over 5,000 premium bars/clubs and distribution outlets in UK's major cities such as London, Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, etc.

Tiger Beer has become such a recognizable and much sought-after import premium beer there that it has recently been voted by male 'urbanites' across Britain's major cities as one the top five drink brands in the Superbrands' Cool BrandLeaders 2004 - an online survey which identifies and gives recognition to the coolest brands in UK. Tiger Beer also topped a list of 50 beer brands and was crowned the NUTS (a weekly magazine in the UK) Beer of the Year 2004.

Certainly, with demands for Tiger Beer on the rise and the brand garnering a reputation in the UK market, these factors have provided APB the much needed confidence boost to commit a dedicated operation there to compete more aggressively.

Mr James Wong, General Manager, Tiger Export Pte Ltd, further elaborated, "As the global distributor for Tiger Beer, we are constantly exploring ways to see how we can elevate the profile of the brand and expand our volumes in the various markets. We are confident that materializing our 'close-to-market' strategy will allow us to better pre-empt market changes and implement winning programmes that meet consumers' needs there. This opportunity for Tiger Beer UK to further leverage on the proven merits of our current modus operandi in the UK creates the perfect platform for us to take Tiger Beer to greater heights." Tiger Beer UK is slated to go fully operational by 30 September 2005.

This latest development in the UK, combined with its recent spate of acquisitions in leading breweries in China, aptly complements APB's integrated strategy to solidify its foothold globally. In China, APB has gone on to forge strategic alliances with suitable domestic breweries there. Its latest acquisition in March this year is a 40% stake in Jiangsu's top brewery, DaFuHao. Such collaboration would place APB in a position to reap the returns of China's fast-consolidating and booming beer market in the long run.


14 May, 2005