Was that Oktoberfest? Piles of glasses filled with beer in front of Room115, Academic Center 3 really gave you this sweet illusion. In fact, that was a gift from Carlsberg -- On Oct.23rd, Mr. Jesper B. Madsen, Senior Vice President of Carlsberg Breweries presented his point of view upon "Developing Strategy in the Chinese Beer Market -- the Perspective of a Global Brewer" at CEIBS Executive Forum.

Being so proud of Carlsberg, Mr. Jesper B. Madsen said that it wanted to be "probably the best beer company in the world." When introducing this brewery giant, he said "Carlsberg Group was found in 1847 and possessed rich cultural heritage in brewing technology. It is one of the largest brewing groups in the world with over 31000 employees which owns an extensive portfolio of brands and has sales in over 150 markets around the world. The total production volume of 2005 was 102 million hectolitres."

What is their business strategy? They focus on three regions: Western Europe, Eastern Europe/Russia and Asia. China is surely the most important market in Asia, "China is the world's largest country with 1.3 billion people and is also the world's largest market." As early as 1995, Carlsberg Brewery Guangdong Co. Ltd was founded to enter the Chinese market. Since 2002, they have been paying more attention to Western China market: "central government's 'go west' policy fuels strong economic growth in the region where combined with low per capita consumption and it is also a relatively less competitive market comparing with the eastern regions." Through a series of investment, Carlsberg has now built 18 plants in West China.

"Our Vision in China is to become the leading brewery group in West China, and a major brewery group in China." Well, the vision is not so easy to achieve as we emptied glasses of beer after the lecture. We wish Mr. Jesper B. Madsen and his Carlsberg a brighter future in China!