Petrópolis grows 29% and mira Northeast

Manufacturer of brews Itaipava and Crystal, the grupo Petrópolis need to build two or three new factories to cover the entire national market until 2020. However, in 2014, the company will make a temporary pause in expanding capacity. In the year of the Cup, Petrópolis will chase the return on investment of r $ 1.2 billion it made in two factories in the Northeast.
"It will be the year of the ' payback ' [return]," says Douglas Costa, market Director of Petrópolis. According to the Executive, the beer market in the Northeast is larger than in the South by presenting little or no seasonality in sales. Strategic approaches to the manufacturers, the northeastern region is dominated by labels Skol, the industry leader Ambev, and Nova Schin from Brazil Kirin.
The dispute with these two brands will be tough to Petrópolis, especially now that the beer market signals that will grow at a lower speed in Brazil. Only in Bahia, Costa estimates that the market share of the Skol be more 60%, and Nova Schin, almost 30%.
With 16 thousand employees, Petrópolis inaugurated its fifth factory last month in Alagoinhas (Bahia). For may of next year, is expected start of production of the unit of Itapissuma (PE). Most of the resources to raise the two units came from BNDES, says Costa.
To win market in the region, Petrópolis will increase spending on marketing and promotional activities at points of sale, says Costa, although the budget for next year is not yet closed. In 2013, these expenses totaled r $ 360 million, including the expense to christen the new sporting arenas of Salvador and Recife for the World Cup.
Second largest brewer of Brazil, Petropolis should reach revenues of R $ 6.3 billion this year, up 29% compared to last year. The growth is the result of high prices with repositioning of brands and also a modest expansion in volumes, says the Executive.
Towards 2012, Costa designs high between 1.5% and 2% in the volume of beer sold by Petrópolis. The market as a whole must terminate the year "tied," he says. "In the months in which the sector registered a drop in volumes, we can at least have a milder downturn," he says.
According to Costa, the market share of Petrópolis can reach up to 14% this year, depending on how is the performance of the newly-opened factory in Bahia. Excluding the effect of the new operation in the Northeast, Petrópolis, projecting 11.6% market share of beers in 2013.
According to the Executive, the manufacturers are anticipated to increase in the federal tax on beer which will begin to be worth starting in October and earlier this month, began to pass on to the consumer, heterogeneous form between regions.
Last year, Costa said, the price of beer has increased, on average, 7% on 2011. "For tax purposes, the increase this year will be greater," he says.
To coast, there is a concern in the industry that if the price of beer rising too, there is a migration of consumption for the category of distilled beverages. "It would be the opposite of what we have seen in recent years, when too many people switched to rum for the beer".
In addition to consolidating its presence in the Northeast, the Petrópolis aims to expand its portfolio of non-alcoholic drinks next year. Today, this category represents less than 1% of the company's revenue, which, in addition to beer, sells the energetic TNT, the soda It! and the isotonic Ironage. Soon, the company is preparing to launch in the water category.