Imported beer took a 13.3 percent market share at Lotte in 2010 and the figure steadily soared to 16.7 percent in 2011, 19.5 percent in 2012 and 25.4 percent in 2013, the retailer said.
German beer accounted for 30.9 percent of the total sales of imported beer at the mart in 2014, followed by Japanese beer (22 percent), Dutch beer (11.5 percent), Belgium beer (6.6 percent) and American beer (6.1 percent). German beer took the top spot for the first time, defeating Japanese beer that finished first until 2013.
German and Japanese beer had a 9.3 percent and 6.6 percent market share, respectively, both higher than any other South Korean brands such as Max (4.7 percent), The Premier (4.3 percent) and Dry (4.1 percent), Lotte said.
Of imported foreign-made beer, German and Japanese beer is showing strong performance in terms of sales, a Lotte official said.
"Given the growing popularity of imported beer, they will likely maintain a combined market share of 30 percent or more," he said.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
