Asahi Breweries Co. said Friday that it is ramping up sales of its flagship product in Malaysia using a local network of Carlsberg A/S, in a move to establish a bigger presence overseas amid shrinking domestic demand.
The Tokyo-based company will broaden sales of its Super Dry beer in Malaysia to cover local consumers nationwide, instead of limited marketing to Japanese restaurants in Kuala Lumpur and other cities. To keep costs down, Super Dry consumed in Malaysia now comes from Asahi’s joint venture in China instead of Japan. Asahi declined to disclose its future sales targets in the country.
The move is the latest by Asahi as it embarks on major offensive overseas while it contends with a gloomy outlook in Japan with its shrinking population and weak economy.
Earlier this year, Asahi said it signed a Hong Kong marketing pact with the Danish brewer in a bid to double its Hong Kong sales by 2014.
In 2009, Asahi’s overseas sales accounted for only about 5% of total sales, but it aims to raise that ratio to 20%-30% by 2015 and become one of the top 10 global food and beverage companies.
