Japan: Asahi’s beer sales up in November, new genre beer grows by 21%

Japan’s Asahi Breweries said on December, 12 its total domestic beer sales decreased by 2.4% to 1,924,555 kl in January - November 2010. In November alone, however, beer sales increased by 5.9% to 177,205 kl.

Low-malt happoshu beer saw the biggest decrease in demand – minus 5.8% last month and minus 26.5% in January - November this year. Sales of ordinary beer grew by 4.7% last month but dropped 3.2% in January – November, whereas new genre malt-based beer enjoyed a 17.2% growth last month and a 21% growth in the first eleven months of 2010.

Sales of Clear Asahi increased by 17.4% last month and by 11.6% in the January – November period of 2010. Sales of Style Free increased by 9.3% last month, Super Dry - by 1.2% as compared to the same month in 2009, and sales of Asahi Off grew by 22%. Super Dry, Asahi Off and Style Free all registered lower sales in January – November.

15 December, 2010