| Wed 3 Dec 2003, 10:07 | | SABMiller explores new markets |
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Sofia, Bulgaria - SABMiller, the world's second-biggest brewer, is considering entering the eastern Mediterranean markets of Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus and Lebanon. Serbia-Montenegro might be added to the list.
Philip Nieman, SABMiller's head of exports and international marketing, and Charl Bassil, its new market development manager, are in the region on a "tentative, fact-finding mission".
Bassil said that while SABMiller had a European division, it was now looking at countries "not yet part of the SABMiller family".
Up to now, becoming part of the SABMiller family has meant the brewer investing in beer production in a new country.
Nieman and Bassil are exploring the option of testing the market first, by selling brands that have already proved popular in South Africa and elsewhere.
These include Castle beer, Redds cider and Brutal Fruit, a fruit-based alcoholic drink launched recently in South Africa that is a runaway success with younger adults.
Interviewed in Sofia, Bassil said his first impression was that the Bulgarian market was a tough one to enter, given the presence of Heineken, Interbrew and Carlsberg brewers that came to Bulgaria after the fall of communism 13 years ago as well as solidly established Bulgarian brands.
But he said it was possible that the youth market in the country would be looking for something new and exciting and in this case Brutal Fruit would fit the bill.
Nieman added:
"There does seem to be an intense battlefield in the [Bulgarian] market."
As to the question of distribution of products that would enter as niche brands, there were lessons learned in other countries, including the UK and Australia, where SABMiller products had been sold through supermarket chains. In Africa, distribution worked differently.
Bassil said they were not intimidated by talk of vested interests in the liquor market, even those said to be linked to organised crime.
Should a decision be made to enter the market, "it's going to be hard to scare us off".
The company was exploring the Bulgarian market at the suggestion of the South African trade attaché in Athens.
Nieman said: "Consumption per capita [in Bulgaria] is high, and there is a place for a really affordable brand. Castle, therefore, has a place."
