Aeon, Seven & I to launch 100-yen beer-like drink with Suntory+

TOKYO, June 29 Kyodo -
Supermarket chain operator Aeon Co. said Monday it has co-developed with
Japanese brewer Suntory Liquors Ltd. a ''third-category'' beer-like drink that
it will begin selling at a starting price of 100 yen in late July.
Separately, rival retailer Seven & I Holdings Co. also said it will introduce
at around the same time a similar private brand product with Suntory, priced at
600 yen for a pack containing six 350-mililiter cans.
Experts said the entry of both retail giants into the beer market may encourage
other beer makers like Kirin Brewery Co., previously cautious about price cuts,
to reconsider their pricing strategy.
Aeon, the operator of Jusco, Saty and MaxValu supermarket stores, plans to roll
out the private brand beer with a price tag about 20 percent lower than similar
drinks from major brewers on the back of consumer demand for cheaper products
amid the economic recession.
Aeon, which will sell the product at around 3,700 stores nationwide, is aiming
for annual sales of 30 million cans for a 350-ml size. A 500-ml can will be
priced at 145 yen.
''We're receiving many requests from customers for lower-priced beer,''
Kunihiko Hisaki, Aeon's chief merchandising officer, told reporters. He hinted
the company may consider launching private brand products in beer and low-malt
''happoshu'' categories in the future.
Meanwhile, Seven & I, which operates Ito-Yokado and other supermarkets, said it
will sell the new product at around 400 stores nationwide.
But a single 350-ml will cost about 123 yen at convenience stores operated by
subsidiary Seven-Eleven Japan Co.
While Daiei Inc. has sold foreign imported beer under a private brand label, it
will be the first time for a supermarket operator to team up with a leading
domestic beer maker in the development of a private brand product, according to
Aeon.
Sales of beer-like beverages in the new category, which often use soybeans,
corn and peas as main ingredients, have increased in recent years with their
price appeal.
In May, shipments of third-category beer increased 13.6 percent from a year
earlier, accounting for nearly 30 percent of total beer shipments in Japan,
according to the Brewery Association of Japan. Suntory had the second-largest
share in the third-category sector in 2008, trailing Kirin.
Both of the new third-category beers will be produced at Suntory's factory and
directly shipped to Aeon and Seven & I's distribution centers. The companies
were able to substantially lower costs through mass production and streamlining
of distribution, officials said.
The products, which took about a year in joint development, will be called
''Topvalu Mugi No Kaori'' for Aeon and ''The Brew'' for Seven & I with
alcoholic content of 5 percent.
==Kyodo