Russia: For St. Petersburg in general the year 2003 was a year of hope for the next four years, Pyotr Chernyshyov, General Director of Vena Brewery told St. Petersburg Times. He said that on the local beer market the situation had approached the European one. “This year the market faced a critical moment when growth stopped and competition started getting stronger. All of us will have to learn how to work under such conditions. For our company this year was also a turning point: we rebranded our leader, Nevskoye, and also launched several new brands, including Triumph and Kronverk. In July 2003, Vena hit record sales with 20 million liters of beer and other drinks. By October 2003, the total sales volume for the year reached 130.7 million liters.”

30 December, 2003