[Report] "Buy It When It's Cheap"... Weekend Big Mart 'Beer Run'

Ob Beer to Raise Domestic Beer Ex-factory Prices by an Average of 7.7% Starting from the 8th

A beer display at a large supermarket in Seoul.

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Eun-mo] "These days, nothing seems to avoid price hikes, so it's not really surprising that beer prices are going up. Beer companies might have their reasons, but from a consumer's perspective, price increases are never welcome. For now, the only option is to buy and stock up as much as possible."

OB Beer, the leading company in the domestic beer market, announced that starting from the 8th, it will raise the wholesale prices of Cass, OB, Hanmac, and other brands by an average of 7.7%. With forecasts that competitors like HiteJinro and Lotte Chilsung Beverage will soon follow suit with price hikes, consumers are showing signs of purchasing beer in advance before the price increase.

On the afternoon of the 6th at the Emart Gayang branch in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, Mr. A, in his 50s, who came to the store with his wife for weekend shopping, took two boxes of beer, each containing six 1.6L PET bottles, from the display and stacked them in his shopping cart. He said, "I’m used to domestic beer since I’ve been drinking it for a long time, and it’s relatively affordable, so I drink it without much burden. But if prices keep rising like this, I think it will lose some of its appeal in terms of cost. For now, since I came by car today, I plan to buy more than usual."

An employee is arranging beer products on the liquor shelf at a large supermarket in Seoul.

The previous afternoon at Homeplus Gangseo branch, the number of beers stacked on the temporary display in the liquor section fluctuated frequently. Consumers picked up beers as they passed by and placed them in their carts and baskets, while employees quickly restocked the beers whenever they ran low.

Mr. B, in his 30s, who came out to buy daily necessities, emphasized "cost-effectiveness" and moved a five-pack of eight-can beers on special sale into his cart. He said, "It seems more people are drinking at home these days than before. Having a beer after work is my little pleasure, but even that is becoming more burdensome." He added, "I could just stop drinking, but it’s not as easy as it sounds. This might be a good opportunity to cut back a bit."

Mr. Park, who works here, said, "Since beer prices are set to rise starting next week and it’s the weekend, many people seem to be stocking up before the price increase. We keep restocking as items run out."

With the leading company initiating the price hike, competitors are also expected to raise prices soon. HiteJinro, which sells Hite and Terra, and Lotte Chilsung Beverage, which sells Kloud, have acknowledged price increase factors but have not yet made any decisions. However, since the industry leader has already raised prices, the increase itself is becoming a foregone conclusion.

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