Hite Jinro, second largest brewing company in South Korea and one of the country’s largest distillers said on Friday in a regulatory filing it is considering selling one of its three breweries to increase efficiency in beer production. The brewer with a production of 6.62 million hectoliters in 2016 is losing market share to number three brewer Lotte Chilsung Beverage and a growing import beer market.
In March the company had offered 100 from its 3,200 employees a voluntary retirement “as a preemptive measure to more effectively cope with Korea's declining beer and soju markets”, a Hite-Jinro official said at that time (<link news detail south-korea-hite-jinro-cuts-workforce-by-more-than-3.html>inside.beer, 10.3.2017).
Moreover, the company is currently under investigation of Korea’s corporate watchdog Fair Trade Commission (FTC), after obstructing an investigation on unfair trade practices in April (<link news detail south-korea-hite-jinro-said-to-obstruct-investigation-on-unfair-trade-practices.html>inside.beer, 21.9.2017).
However, until now no decision has been made on the sale and on which of the sites is much likely to be sold. The outcome of the examination is still open.
