Mexico City, Dec. 4 - Grupo Modelo, leader in the production, distribution and sale of beer in Mexico, today announced an agreement with its partner Anheuser- Busch to import Modelo's beers into China as of January 2007.
Grupo Modelo and Anheuser-Busch have a long history of successful collaboration that began when they partnered in 1993. Modelo is the exclusive importer of Anheuser-Busch's brands in Mexico, among which Budweiser and Bud Light are notable.
"This new partnership ideally complements the international strategy that Modelo has successfully implemented for several decades. We are very pleased with this association, which offers excellent long-term growth opportunities for Grupo Modelo's brand portfolio in China, a very important market for our company," stated Carlos Fernandez, chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer of Grupo Modelo.
"The popularity and high quality of Corona Extra makes it an excellent complement to our Budweiser and Harbin beers," said August A. Busch IV, president and CEO of Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. "Corona Extra competes in the super-premium segment of the market, which is experiencing strong growth. With our continued success in this segment, and our 10 years of sales, marketing and distribution experience, we expect to significantly increase the sales of Corona."
In addition to being the most popular Mexican beer in the world, Corona Extra is the most popular imported beer in the United States regardless of origin.
The agreement with Anheuser-Busch for China covers Corona Extra and potentially other Grupo Modelo brands in the future.
In August, Grupo Modelo announced it will begin to distribute the Chinese beer Tsingtao in Mexico by the end of this year, bringing China's most global brand to Mexico for the first time. Anheuser-Busch is also an investor in Tsingtao, China's largest brewer.