Sou Hu Cai Jing·2025-12-16 06:49Core Insights - The closure of the China Resources Snow Beer (Changchun) factory marks the end of an era for the company in Northeast China, with the factory officially deregistered after six years of inactivity [1][3] - China Resources Beer has shut down 36 factories since 2017, resulting in nearly 30,000 layoffs as part of its operational optimization strategy [1][5] Group 1: Company Strategy and Operations - The Changchun factory was part of China Resources Beer's strategic presence in Northeast China, reflecting the company's 30-year development in the region [3] - The company has reduced the number of operational breweries in mainland China from 98 to 62 between 2016 and 2023 as part of its "streamlining" plan [5] - The chairman of China Resources Beer, Hou Xiaohai, explained that the closures were driven by competitors achieving higher profits with fewer employees [6] Group 2: Market Dynamics - The Chinese beer market has shifted from a fragmented landscape to a competitive environment dominated by five major players, including China Resources Snow Beer and Tsingtao Brewery [12] - From 2017 to 2022, the market share of high-end beer products in China increased from 9.66% to 12.61%, with revenue share rising from 30.4% to 36.48% [8] - To address its shortcomings in the high-end market, China Resources Beer acquired Heineken China in April 2019 and established a high-end brand matrix [13] Group 3: Future Developments - Despite the closures, China Resources Beer is not completely exiting Northeast China; a new brewery project in Chaoyang with an annual production capacity of 300,000 kiloliters is under construction, expected to start trial production in October 2025 [10] - This new project is anticipated to generate an annual output value of 1 billion yuan and create 1,000 jobs [10] - The city of Shenyang is actively promoting itself as "China's Beer Capital," with its beer production in 2023 reaching 694,000 kiloliters, accounting for 41.6% of the province's total output [15]