Stefan Maria Weber, the new chairman of Ursus Breweries, the producer of Ursus and Timisoreana beer brands, says he is impressed with the domestic beer market's growth rate over the past two years, but believes growth will slow down in 2008.
"The growth rate the Romanian beer market posted last year was very strong and unprecedented, exceeding even Russia's. We saw the biggest market increases of the past 18 months, with high temperatures and changing consumer habits proving to be the main growth drivers. This year, however, I don't expect market growth to top 10%," Weber told ZF in his first interview since his appointment as chairman of Ursus Breweries.
He became chairman on November 1, 2007, and replaced Dieter Schulze. Previously, Weber worked as sales, distribution and trade marketing manager for Europe with SABMiller.
"In the past, 80% of the hops required were harvested from Romania. After the drought, only 50% of hop production comes from Romania, which means we have to import more raw material at much higher prices than in the past, which will show in the price of final products," says Weber.
However, he estimates the market of alcohol-free beer has significant growth potential over the coming years, although the segment only accounts for a small percentage of overall beer sales at present.
According to the company representatives, the main producer of alcohol-free beer domestically is InBev Romania, which holds over 60% of this segment with the Bergenbier and Stella Artois brands. Until last year, the only brewer in the top 3 that did not include an alcohol-free beer brand in its portfolio was Ursus Breweries. However, the company launched its own brand last summer. Nevertheless, growth along this segment is not one of Weber's immediate targets. The new general manager of Ursus plans to focus on the premium segment and the continued expansion of brands.
SABMiller reported 18% higher beer sales in Romania, in the last three months of last year, 3 times above the rate reported in Poland or Russia. In the first nine months of the fiscal year (April-December 2007), Ursus Breweries sales jumped by 27%, the strongest growth rate the company has reported in the past three years. Last year, SABMiller's domestic unit posted turnover worth around 190m euros.
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