InBev Taps China’s Thirst for Luxury Brands 中国人重面子百威英博趁机引入高端啤酒品牌
I read with interest today that beverage giant Anheuser Busch InBev (NYSE: BEV), maker of Budweiser beer, is looking to take advantage of China’s taste for luxury goods with the launch of its Stella Artois brand as a high-end beer for the market. (English article) In my view this looks like a brilliant move to literally tap a young group of newly affluent urban Chinese who don’t mind paying a little extra for a product with a premium name. According to the report in the China Daily, InBev plans to sell Stella in China for a relatively pricey 40 yuan per bottle, or about $6.30, compared with a much lower 10 yuan per bottle for most mainstream beers. I’m no beer afficianado, and I’ll be the first to admit that from a taste perspective I’m just as happy drinking a Budweiser or Tsingtao as I am drinking a Stella. But from an image perspective, if I’m out at a bar or restaurant trying to give a good impression to business clients or friends, I’d be much more likely to order a premium brand like a Stella rather than Budweiser, which has a much more ordinary image. In this case, many Chinese are likely to feel similarly, giving this Stella campaign a good chance of success in image-conscious China. In addition, the “premium” in this case is relatively minor — just 30 yuan per bottle, which is certainly much more affordable to the average Chinese when compared with the thousands or even tens of thousands of yuan that many young urbanites spend today on super-expensive luxury items from names like Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Burberry. Last but certainly not least, InBev will be able to draw on its strong distribution and marketing infrastructure in China via its Budweiser brand, which already enjoys a slightly premium image due to the fact that it’s China’s only major mainstream brand that’s foreign. All things considered, I would give Stella a good chance of making fast inroads to China, and wouldn’t be surprised to see one or two more domestic or global premium beer brands make similar moves in the next few years.
Bottom line: InBev’s new launch of its Stella Artois beer as a premium brand looks like a smart move drawing on China’s thirst for luxury brands.
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