Carlsberg on Aggressive Drive

Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd, which is the top beer brand in the country, is on an aggressive drive to draw more customers to its fold via its global brand relaunch.


Managing director Soren Ravn says: “Carlsberg’s green logo is well-known in Malaysia, with one out of two beer drinkers preferring the brand compared with other brands. With this new global initiative, we are out to bring the other one out of two beer drinkers into the fold.”


He says the company will invest significantly in the Carlsberg brand, widen its distribution channels and make every effort to get closer to consumers to boost sales.

At the same time, he says it plans to recruit new customers to its brand and capture more specific target audience comprising the younger generation amid higher consumption of premium beer among this segment.


He says Carlsberg Malaysia is confident these initiatives will significantly drive sales growth in the coming years and support its overall ambition to be the dominant player in the domestic beer market.


Ravn says the company plans to increase its revenue rather than its volume, adding that it hopes to rake in an annual double-digit revenue increase from this global brand initiative.


For the fiscal year ended Dec 31, 2010, the company’s revenue stood at RM1.4bil, a 31% growth over the previous year’s. Net profit stood at RM134.1mil compared with RM76.7mil in 2009.


He says the company wants to position itself by banking on quality and heritage rather than having a price war with its rivals.


For Malaysia, without revealing figures, he says the company will be spending about 50% of its total marketing budget for the global relaunch.


For the first time, Carlsberg will share the same core visual identity of the brand worldwide, giving it the same look and feel in terms of packaging and bottles across more than 140 markets it operates.


With the global tagline “That calls for a Carlsberg”, the company over the next few months would also be launching a new campaign simultaneously worldwide, which among others, will seek to enhance the quality and heritage of the brand.


Carlsberg has been voted as the top brand in Malaysia garnering the Putra Brand Awards and Reader’s Digest Most Trusted Brand Awards. The brand is also the top five beer brands in the world.


Currently, the brand commands a total market share of more than 42% (in combination with other brands that it distributes) and out of this, 90% is contributed by the Carlsberg brand alone.


Since its acquisition of Luen Heng F&B Sdn Bhd a few years back, it also distributes other imported premium beer brands including Budweiser, Hoegaarden, Stella Artois, Fosters and Becks.


The brand relaunch will now see the Carlsberg iconic crown in a more simple, distinctive, refined and modern look, symbolising the current times and fresh and younger audience.


The new packaging on its Quart and Profile bottles will see the Carlsberg brand embossed on the bottle, with a new neck-shape label, making it appealing to consumers. Carlsberg’s mode of transportation too like delivery trucks and sales cars will also have a new look


According to Ravn, the global relaunch which runs into hundreds of millions of US dollars for the group is the most ambitious re-launch in the Carlsberg Group history.


“We have high expectations in the outcome of this initiative and in boosting sales. We have a strong belief that the brand has the potential to grow to a lot more than what it is today,” he adds.

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