Click the image for details Recently, media reported that Budweiser Group has signed an agreement with Jebsen Group to establish a joint venture in mainland China to co-operate Jebsen's Blue Girl Beer. The report stated that this cooperation is Budweiser's first joint venture with a distributor for premium beer, with Budweiser holding 65% and Jebsen holding 35%. TVB's 'Official' Beer What is Blue Girl Beer? It originated in Bremen, a city in northern Germany, brewed since the early 19th century, and was exported to Qingdao, China around 1895 for local German officials. In 1906, Blue Girl Beer was acquired by Jebsen Group, becoming its first proprietary brand, and was introduced to Hong Kong, Taiwan, and mainland China. In 2016, Blue Girl Beer ranked among the top in Hong Kong's premium beer category for the ninth consecutive year, with a market share exceeding 20%. It is also a common beverage in TVB dramas. For over a century, Blue Girl Beer has maintained its premium positioning and consistent brand visual identity. Currently, Blue Girl Beer has moved bottling to South Korea and entered Chinese e-commerce platforms, seeking a 'balance between online and offline' in the mainland market. Century-old Jebsen Jebsen Group, which introduced Blue Girl to China, is no small player. Porsche, BASF, Dyson... these globally renowned brands entered the Chinese market through Jebsen. In 1895, Jacob Jebsen and Heinrich Jessen jointly founded Jebsen & Co., developing the enterprise from a shipping agency into a trading company. In 1978, Hans Michael Jebsen, grandson of Jacob Jebsen and current chairman of the group, came to China and funded traditional Chinese instrument players through organizations like the Asian Cultural Council. In 2001, he was awarded the Bronze Bauhinia Star by the Hong Kong SAR government. In 2004, Jebsen (China) Trading Co., Ltd. was established as the group's business platform in mainland China. Jebsen Group has six business lines: Beverages, Consumer Goods, Industrial, Automotive, Logistics, and Jebsen Capital, covering trading, marketing, distribution, production, manufacturing, B2B, and retail. For the Chinese market, Jebsen has entered fields such as film and broadcasting, food specialty ingredients, and clean technology, gradually shifting from 'selling products' to 'selling services or solutions'. What's the 'Red-Blue Pair' Up To? What are these two century-old companies planning by joining forces? One speculation is that this move aims to alleviate Budweiser's debt pressure. For Budweiser, which grew through acquisitions, after acquiring SABMiller for $103.7 billion, it fell into a situation of selling assets to repay debt. In August 2016, Budweiser was reported to lay off 5,500 employees; in 2018, it reduced its fiscal year dividend by 50% and cut 300 jobs from its premium beer division. Recently, there have been reports that Budweiser is considering splitting its Asian business to raise $5 billion through a Hong Kong IPO. Choosing cooperation over acquisition this time may be preparation for its listing and financing. Yesterday, some media speculated that this cooperation directly targets the previous alliance between China Resources and Heineken. In August 2018, China Resources Group sold a 40% stake to Heineken Group to focus on China's premium beer market. However, industry insiders have a different view. New Distribution consulted beer industry insider Chen Gang (pseudonym), who told New Distribution that linking the above cooperation to the China Resources-Heineken alliance is unreasonable. The insider said Budweiser's core consideration is actively preparing for its listing, as well as seeking market share in Hong Kong and Macau to consolidate the Asia-Pacific market. Moreover, Budweiser has never 'taken seriously' Snow's 'premiumization' strategy. New Distribution will hold the 2019 (5th) FMCG + Internet Conference during the Chengdu Spring Sugar and Wine Fair from March 16-18. This conference will focus on the theme 'Breakthrough' , with in-depth discussions involving numerous brand owners, supply chain service providers, distributors, and retailers. Compared to previous conferences, this summit will be fully upgraded. In addition to original topics like channel innovation, city distribution logistics, and distributor transformation , it will add multiple parallel forums on new marketing cases, IP + FMCG empowerment, community group buying, and innovative retail . Through three days of ten high-density, high-quality expert sharing sessions, we believe every brand owner and distributor can learn the latest business models, expert insights, and practical methods, finding new tools and approaches for their own breakthrough in 2019 and returning to high-speed growth. Conference Time: March 16-18, 2019 Conference Venue: Longfeng Hall, Chengdu Longemont Hotel Conference Agenda 2019 5th FMCG + Internet Conference Date | Time | Venue | Topic 3.16 | All day | Main Forum | Breakthrough - 2019 (5th) FMCG + Internet Conference 3.17 | Morning | Parallel Forum 1 | New Logistics, New City Distribution Parallel Forum 2 | How Can Distributors Achieve Iterative Upgrades? Afternoon | Parallel Forum 3 | IP Empowerment, Boosting Brand Growth Parallel Forum 4 | How Can Community Group Buying Reconstruct the Value Chain? 3.18 | Morning | Parallel Forum 1 | Retail Scenario Innovation Parallel Forum 2 | New Product Sales Public Course Afternoon | Parallel Forum 3 | Social E-commerce Parallel Forum 4 | New Marketing Public Course Registration is now open. Long press the QR code below or click 'Read Original' to register . Early bird tickets at 66% discount, limited to 200, are on sale now...! Add the conference staff to register -END-