Kirin Holdings Company, Limited (Tokyo, Japan; President and CEO, Senji Miyake) decided at a board meeting today to establish a new domestic integrated beverage company called “Kirin Company, Limited (hereafter, “Kirin Company” )” in January 2013. To pursue further growth in the domestic integrated beverage business, Kirin Company will team up with other group companies (Kirin Brewery Company, Limited; Kirin Beverage Company, Limited; and Mercian Corporation), accelerating implementation of our integrated beverage business strategy.
The long-term Kirin Group Vision (KV2015) has promoted an integrated beverage business strategy thus far, calling for “stronger tie-ups along the entire alcoholic and soft drink value chains and creation of value that responds to expectations from our customers and society.” This has yielded a certain amount of success. However, severe conditions are expected to continue in both the alcoholic and soft drink markets. Thus, in order to achieve further growth in the domestic integrated beverage business and promote a strategy based on brand-centered management in a speedy and efficient manner, we have decided to reorganize our internal group structure and establish Kirin Company.
Further, the companies Kirin Brewery, Kirin Beverage and Mercian, currently under the management of Kirin Holdings, will become subsidiaries of Kirin Company in January 2013*.
*After reorganization, Kirin Company is expected to become a subsidiary of Kirin Holdings through renaming of Kirin Group Office Company (currently a Kirin Holdings subsidiary that is a functional company). The method of group reorganization in the transition to the new structure is expected to be decided this coming autumn. An announcement will be given as soon as a decision is made.