Hong Kong's Carlsberg: Deepening Regional Presence to Build Barriers, What Are the New Ideas for Chinese Liquor Companies' Transformation?

Amid ongoing deep adjustments in the Baijiu industry, the beer market is quietly showing positive signals of value upgrading. Jiangsu Zhujiang Brewery’s latest financial report indicates that by 2025, the company’s sales will see a slight increase, with operating revenue reaching 5.878 billion yuan, up 2.56% year-on-year; net profit will grow by 11.42% to 903 million yuan. This data confirms the transformation trend in the beer industry of “decreasing volume, increasing price,” achieved through product structure optimization to enhance profitability.

Overlapping with Zhujiang Beer in the market, Hong Kong San Miguel Beer (00236.HK) also performed impressively during the same period. The company’s 2025 revenue reached HKD 737 million, a 3.7% increase year-on-year, with an annual profit of HKD 78.36 million, turning around from a loss of HKD 18.92 million the previous year. Notably, its gross profit margin of 40.08% increased by 2.66 percentage points compared to the previous year, surpassing the average performance of China’s top five beer giants in the past. Financial data shows that the company’s 2024 loss was mainly due to HKD 90 million in asset impairment. Excluding this factor, its business profit still exceeded HKD 70 million that year, indicating strong stability in its core operations.

This century-old beer company has a distinctive development trajectory. The San Miguel Beer brand originated from the Miguela Brewery in the Philippines in 1889. After entering the Hong Kong market in the 1940s, it gradually shifted its operational focus there and became Hong Kong’s first listed beer company in 1963. At its peak, the brand was on par with Asia’s two major beer brands, with stars like Stephen Chow and Jet Li endorsing it. Its advertisements still circulate online, becoming part of Hong Kong’s cultural symbols. Currently, its positioning as “Hong Kong’s No.1 Light Beer” is well known, and its sub-brand “Long Beer,” launched in Guangdong, promotes itself as “Shunde people’s beer,” forming a distinct regional identity.

In stark contrast to the aggressive expansion strategies of domestic beer giants, San Miguel Beer in Hong Kong has always adopted a prudent management approach. The company controls the pace of capacity expansion and concentrates resources on core markets. This strategy helps avoid vicious competition while maintaining relatively high gross profit margins. High regional market penetration and targeted brand investments effectively reduce operating costs, forming a unique profit model. Although this development path has led to long-term low stock prices, with a market value of only HKD 508 million—less than some loss-making Chinese beer companies—its stable cash flow and profitability still hold investment value.

The current alcohol market is undergoing profound changes, with a clear trend toward consumer scene-driven transformation. Industry analysis indicates that the value of pure scale expansion is diminishing, and market depth and consumer recognition are becoming key competitive factors. Against this backdrop, San Miguel Beer’s operational model demonstrates unique advantages: its regional leading position is hard to shake, with a solid consumer base in Hong Kong, Guangdong, and the Philippines. This “deep cultivation” strategy can serve as both a defensive barrier and a reference for future expansion.

Market observers believe that as alcohol consumption becomes more integrated, the boundaries between categories are gradually blurring. The core consideration is shifting from “what type of alcohol to drink” to “who is drinking.” This creates new opportunities for regional brands to develop by meeting personalized needs and achieving differentiated competition. The case of Lao Bai Gan Liquor’s integration offers valuable lessons—by acquiring regional brands like Hunan Wuling and Anhui Wenwang Gong, the company has built a market network covering multiple provinces and cities, forging a distinctive development path. This model has potential for replication across segments such as beer, Baijiu, and red wine, indicating that the alcohol industry will enter a new round of consolidation.