For a CNY 300 million (€27.54m) consideration Kirin has bought into the Daxue and Daxue Draft brands, which are amongst the leading domestic beers in the North Eastern region of China. Based in Dalian City, Liaoning Province, the Chinese brewer's beer sales are estimated to surge by 30 per cent over the previous year in 2004 to about 185,000 kl, making it the second largest beer producer in Liaoning Province.
Through the partnership Kirin says that it aims to introduce its beer-brewing and quality-control technologies in order for Dalian Daxue to strengthen its competitiveness in product quality.
The company also says it will cooperate with Dalian Daxue in enhancing their brand marketing for Daxue, Daxue Draft and Kirin brands to build sustainable competitive advantage in the competitive market.
Being the most densely populated and economically progressive regions, the Pearl River Delta, the Yangtze River Delta and the three northeastern provinces are strategically important markets for any international company trying to establish itself in China.
With these three strategic areas in mind, Kirin is chasing what is now the largest beer market by volume in the world, joined by countless other multinational beer companies who are also racing to increase their presence there.
In the Pearl River Delta, Kirin's business operations have been led by Zhuhai Kirin President Brewery in Guangdong Province, a joint venture with Uni-President Enterprises Corp. In the Yangtze River Delta, Kirin says it is mulling the launch of new business operations.
Kirin Brewery is aiming to build a global business network by forming strategic partnership with other major brewers. In doing this the brewer says it is placing an emphasis on the Asia and Oceania region as priority market areas, and that to meet this aim further strategic partnerships are a strong likelihood.