Plze?sk? Prazdroj exported 920 000 hectolitres of beer in 2012. It represents an increase of almost 3% and exceeds 900 000 hl for the first time in the history. The record sales abroad were positively influenced by higher demand for Pilsner Urquell in Asian countries and in the United Kingdom. In the domestic market the sales went up in the off–trade segment benefiting from innovations such as convenient packaging or mixed beer–based drinks. The continuing outflow of consumers from restaurants and bars affected the overall domestic sales reaching over 6.8 million hl. With licenced production of 2.10 million hl Plze?sk? Prazdroj sold in total almost 9.9 million hl of beer matching the last year performance.
Domestic market saw recovery mainly through innovations in the portfolio. However domestic consumption has been impacted by continuous declining trend in the on–trade, resulting from economic and government austerities. Further development of the Czech beer market will be influenced by the recent VAT increase and subsequent shopping decisions made by consumers. We will continue to build our unique Czech beer culture by offering high quality products to satisfy our consumers‘ demands, bringing great shopping experience when purchasing our beer in retail and creating pleasant and favourable environment in designed concepts of bars and restaurants across the Czech Republic.“ Doug Brodman, CEO of Plze?sk? Prazdroj
New record in export charts
Despite the continuous challenging economic situation in many export markets, the demand for beer brands of Plze?sk? Prazdroj in 2012 grew to a new historical record. Export of Pilsner Urquell to more than 50 countries went up by 3% compared to prior year. Marketing activities during the whole year and successful presentation of Pilsner Urquell brand during the Olympic Games in London raised sales in the United Kingdom by more than 20%. Consumers in South Korea, Japan, Vietnam and Taiwan showed higher interest in Pilsner Urquell, so the total export of this lager in Asia region grew by more than 50%.
Increase in off–trade benefited from innovations
In the domestic market sales in off–trade increased by a single digit percentage, mainly through successful innovations such as mixed beer–based drinks, convenient packaging like cans and PET bottles. This partially compensated for continuous declining trend in the on–trade segment. In 2012, Plze?sk? Prazdroj introduced numbers of new products, such as mixed beers with fruit juices Gambrinus Lime & Elderberry and Gambrinus Sharp lemon, a wheat beer with peal of orange and coriander called F?nix, Frisco Blackcurrant or Birell Lime & Raspberry flavour and offered beer brands in convenient packaging. In addition, Plzensky Prazdroj developed,sets new standards for a beer shopping experience and match the uniqueness of beer category’s position in the Czech Republic. In the on–trade segment the Company introduced our new brands and continued to offer unfiltered beer in broaden number of pubs.