INTERVIEW: Suntory Aiming to Become World's No. 1 in Spirits Biz

Tokyo, Feb. 6 (Jiji Press)--Suntory Holdings Ltd. is aiming to become the top player in the global spirits market, President Takeshi Niinami has said. "We have a potential to become the world's No. 1 in the spirits market," he said in an interview, adding that the company will make thorough efforts to enhance the operations of U.S. spirits unit Beam Suntory Inc. over the next three years. Suntory Holdings acquired Beam Suntory, formerly called Beam Inc., last year. Suntory has set a goal of increasing its annual consolidated sales to 4 trillion yen in 2020 from the current levels of about 2.5 trillion yen. Niinami noted that the Suntory group has promoted the acquisitions of spirits and soft drinks markers abroad, adding that the two sectors will be its growth drivers. In particular, demand for spirits may grow markedly in emerging economies such as India and China, he said. Meanwhile, Niinami said that it will be difficult for the Suntory group to become the world's leading player in the beer market because there are powerful industry players like Anheuser-Busch InBev of Belgium. In the domestic beer market, the Suntory group will aim for survival partly by beefing up sales of The Premium Malt's series beer, Niinami said, noting that demand for high-end beer is expected to continue growing despite the aging of society. END