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Published on October 25, 2007

"We set the target high, although domestic spending has been sliding in the past 12 months. We'll exploit strategies to promote demand through the offering of high-quality products to consumers," general manager Panya Pongtanya said yesterday.

To strengthen the company's image as a brewer of the finest beer, the focus next year will be on delivering a fresh product to drinkers.

The company will spend Bt60 million to double the number of sub-zero refrigerators at restaurants and pubs nationwide to 3,000, while dealers will be assisted in storing the brewer's products to ensure that they are served within 90 days of the manufacturing date.

The company will also invest Bt1 million a month to improve the performance quality of employees, and employees would undergo at least 30 hours of training per year. The company expects sales of its Tiger and Cheer beers to grow 20 per cent next year while its premium beer Heineken would expand 3 per cent.

Panya said the overall beer market would reach Bt106 billion or about 2.1 billion litres this year and increase 5 per cent to Bt110 billion next year. The company expects its sales to slip 7 per cent to Bt7.5 billion this year due to lagging domestic consumption as well as regulatory uncertainties.

The Nation