Asahi Breweries Ltd. said Tuesday it is aiming to increase sales to ¥1.6 trillion in its 2012 business year as it looks to grow in Asia and other overseas beverage markets amid saturated demand at home.
The maker of the best-selling Super Dry beer also unveiled an aggressive target to eventually boost sales to between ¥2 trillion and ¥2.5 trillion by the 2015 business year, from an anticipated ¥1.5 trillion this year.
The brewer is locked in a neck and neck race with Kirin Holdings Co. for the No. 1 spot in the shrinking domestic beer market and faces a broader power shift in the industry as Kirin is holding merger talks with Suntory Holdings Ltd., which could lead to the creation of one of the world's largest beverage and food makers.