This Company Leading with 'Asahi Draft Beer Can'... Operating Profit Soars 1100% Last Year

Lotte Asahi Reports 42 Billion KRW Operating Profit Last Year
‘Asahi Super Dry Draft Beer Can’ Leads Performance Rebound

Lotte Asahi Liquor achieved record-breaking performance last year. The success of the ‘Asahi Super Dry Draft Beer Can’ completely erased the memory of the ‘No Japan (boycott of Japanese products)’ movement.

According to Lotte Asahi Liquor’s audit report on the 13th, last year, Lotte Asahi Liquor’s sales amounted to 138.6 billion KRW, a 330.4% increase compared to 32.2 billion KRW the previous year. Operating profit during the same period also reached 42 billion KRW, about 12 times higher than the previous year’s 3.5 billion KRW.

Japanese beer was virtually pushed out of the domestic market when the ‘No Japan’ movement gained momentum in 2019. Imports, which reached 78.3 million USD (approximately 107 billion KRW) in 2018 before the boycott, shrank to just 5.67 million USD (about 7.7 billion KRW) in 2020, less than one-tenth of the previous level. Since then, imports have recovered, rising 283.3% year-on-year last year to 55.52 million USD (about 76 billion KRW), reclaiming the top spot in imported beer for the first time in five years since 2018.

Amid the revival of Japanese beer, Lotte Asahi Liquor’s rebound stands out. In 2019, the first year of the boycott, sales halved to 62.3 billion KRW from 124.8 billion KRW the previous year, turning to losses and sharply increasing deficits. Sales declines and operating losses continued for three years, but in 2022, the company returned to profitability for the first time in four years, and last year recorded its best-ever performance, wiping away the slump of recent years.

The driving force behind Lotte Asahi Liquor’s performance recovery was the launch of the Asahi Super Dry Draft Beer Can in June last year. The Asahi Super Dry Draft Beer Can, first released by Japan’s Asahi Breweries in April 2021, is characterized by soft foam naturally rising when the can is opened. Thanks to its unique product form, it received great response locally and became a must-buy item for travelers visiting Japan. In Korea, a limited import of the Japanese product early last year sparked a sold-out frenzy after gaining attention on social media, and it was later officially imported.

The Asahi Super Dry Draft Beer Can continued its unrelenting popularity after official importation, dominating the domestic beer market. In fact, last year, Lotte Asahi Liquor’s retail sales reached 202 billion KRW, capturing a market share of 5.1%, surpassing Heineken Korea (4.1%) and Lotte Chilsung Beverage (4.6%) to rank third. In brand sales rankings, it recorded a 5.0% share, surpassing HiteJinro’s ‘Kelly (4.5%)’ and ranking fourth behind ‘Cass (38.6%)’, ‘Terra (12.0%)’, and ‘Filite (6.1%)’.

Lotte Asahi Liquor plans to continue last year’s momentum this year through aggressive new product launches and expanded marketing. Last month, Lotte Asahi Liquor released the second series of the Asahi Draft Beer Can, ‘Asahi Shokusai’, in the domestic market, and this month plans to introduce ‘Orion The Draft’, famous for ‘Okinawa Beer’, through convenience store channels.