'Tera' Only Encroached on 'Hite'... The Wall of No.1 Beer 'Cass' Was High

1st Place Cass, 2nd Place Terra Followed by Tsingtao and Heineken... Hite Falls Outside the Rankings
OB Beer Leads Sales with 50% Market Share, Hite Jinro 25%... Heineken 5%

2019 Domestic Beer Retail Market Sales Scale by Manufacturer.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] Last year, HiteJinro's 'Terra' emerged like a comet. Although it created the new term 'Tesla (Terra + Chamisul)' and sparked a sales frenzy, it was insufficient to threaten Cass, the No. 1 domestic beer brand from OB Beer. Cass still did not relinquish its top spot, and Terra's rise to second place is analyzed to be due to securing the market share of HiteJinro's 'Hite'.

According to the Food Industry Statistical Information from the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (surveyed by Nielsen Korea) on the 27th, Cass ranked first in the domestic beer retail market last year (retail sales of 1.19 trillion KRW, market share 36%). In particular, Cass maintained its status as the top brand by recording total retail sales of 927.5 billion KRW (Q2 to Q4) even after Terra was launched in the second quarter. The second highest retail sales were from HiteJinro's new product Terra, which held a market share of 6.3% (212.1 billion KRW).

Third place was Qingdao (4.1%), and fourth place was Heineken (3.7%). Hite was the second-ranked brand as of 2018 but fell out of the ranking. The industry evaluated that Terra was able to rise to the second-ranked brand last year by encroaching on Hite's market share.

Brand Market Share Status of Domestic Beer Retail Market in 2019.

Last year, beer retail market sales amounted to 3.317 trillion KRW, with OB Beer accounting for 1.6467 trillion KRW, representing 49.6% of the total market. The sales of second-ranked HiteJinro were about half of OB Beer's at 839.981 billion KRW (25.3%). The gap with the first place is large. Following are Heineken (4.7%), BeerK (4.4%), and Lotte Liquor (4.3%) in order.

Meanwhile, Nielsen's beer retail market statistics compile annual sales by brand and company across all types of retail channels including convenience stores, discount stores, cooperative marts, and department stores.

An industry official said, "The retail market accounts for roughly half of the beer market, so through this, the overall beer market landscape and market share can be indirectly confirmed," adding, "Unlike the entertainment market, the retail market is less influenced by sales promotions, so consumer purchase intentions and preferences are considered to be more accurately reflected."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.