Harbin Beer: Chinese beer expert
Being founded by Polish businessman Jan Wróblewski in 1900, Harbin Brewery Group Ltd is one of the eldest beer companies in China. After the foundation of the PRC, Harbin beer got some governmental financial aid, and became one of the beer giants in northeast China. In 2004, Harbin Brewery was bought by the group Ever.
Since its creation, Harbin Brewery focused on beer producing, and has not done other business ever, but there are different varieties of beer. Now Harbin Brewery has 13 breweries in cities like Harbin(哈尔滨 ), Songjiang(松江), Jiamusi(佳木斯), Mudanjiang(牡丹江), Hailun(海伦), Daqing(大庆), Hegang(鹤岗), Changchun(长春), Jilin(吉林), Yanji(延吉), Shenyang(沈阳 ), Jinzhou(锦州 ) and Tangshan(唐山), mainly in northeast China.
In year 2011, Harbin Brewery had a market share of 5% in China, following China Resources, Tsingtao and Yanjing.
Harbin Beer: expansion in China
Now Harbin Brewery is facing fierce competition in beer market, but it is continually making efforts to develop itself from a regional brand to a national brand. While still keeping its dominant position in northeast China market , it is increasingly popular in other markets, particularly in the market of east China, where its light, cool and fresh taste was widely welcomed.
Also, in southwest China, Harbin Beer had its Ziyang(资阳) brewery in year 2011, which marks another big step in its expansion. Also, Harbin Beer is planning to have its production line in mid China，which we may see in the near future.
Harbin Beer: making a fame in international market, an effective branding strategy
Harbin Beer pays a lot of attention to its brand image and branding strategy, and has effective market strategies in increasing its popularity. In 2009 it became the official partner of the FIFA 2010 World Cup in South Africa. This greatly improved its popularity and influence in the international market. It is the first Chinese beer brand to sponsor a world famous event. All audiences could see the advertisement of Harbin Beer around the football field. Also， Harbin became NBA’s cooperator in China market in March， 2012， which again promotes its popularity a lot.
Harbin Beer not only attracts people in China, but also all over the world. Now, Harbin Beer is exported to over 30 major countries like England, America, Russia，Japan, Singapore and South Korea. Although Harbin Beer keeps innovating in its products, it lags behind its competitors in the frequency of product launching. This may be the disadvantage for its development into a national and international brand.
Source : official website
