BEIJING, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Jebsen Group (Jebsen), a leader in marketing and distribution of premium products across Greater China, announced today the launch of a new business line, Jebsen Capital, as well as the Group's 2017 turnover of HKD $13.4 billion (approx. RMB 10.8 billion). This consistent performance is evidence of both Jebsen's deep knowledge of the China market and the success of its strategic focus on opportunities presented by a steadily growing Chinese economy.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the per capita disposable income of Chinese urban households increased 6.5% to RMB 36,396 in 2017 with expenditure on goods and services up by 7.4%. This reflects the ever-growing appetite of Chinese consumers for lifestyle improvements.
In 2017, Jebsen continued to embrace this growing prosperity and worked diligently to meet Chinese consumers' increasing demand for quality products and services. Specifically, Jebsen focused on optimising its product portfolios and channels, enhancing customer service and innovation, as well as strengthening its corporate capabilities. This focus led to a corporate restructuring that saw the Group adding a new business line, Jebsen Capital, to complement the already existing business lines Jebsen Beverage, Jebsen Consumer, Jebsen Industrial, Jebsen Motors and Jebsen Logistics.
As an initiative to pursue growth opportunities in China through direct, structured, and scalable equity investments, Jebsen Capital will build on the Group's accumulated expertise in manufacturing, marketing and retail, financing, as well as project and stakeholder management in Greater China. Jebsen Capital will make direct growth equity investments in real estate and enterprise development to propel the growth of its portfolio companies. Jebsen Capital has achieved early success with its investment in MiniCC Storage, a company that has growth ambitions in Shanghai.
Jebsen Beverage finished 2017 in a strong position, with its own proprietary brand, Blue Girl Beer, reporting exceptional sales growth of 121% in Mainland China, up from 46% in 2016. With Blue Girl Beer continuing to be the leading premium beer brand in the Greater China market, Jebsen Beer diversified its distribution offerings by adding the renowned Japanese brand, Suntory, to its distribution portfolio.
In the wine category, Jebsen Fine Wines enjoyed steady sales growth of 5% in Hong Kong and 28% in Mainland China respectively. Jebsen Wine Estates sold over 1.1 million bottles in Greater China in 2017, with Australian wine brand Kalamanda achieving a 217% increase in sales in the Mainland market. In Hong Kong, Jebsen Fine Wines became the first exclusive overseas partner of Juyondai, as its sake category delivered a 94% sales increase. This strong performance was due to Jebsen Fine Wine's drive to enhance customer satisfaction and evolve the product portfolio to best cater to the Chinese consumer tastes.
While e-commerce in China is hugely popular, shopping experiences at offline stores remain important. To deliver an integrated online-offline experience and to create a seamless consumer journey across all engagement channels, Jebsen Consumer strengthened its omni-channel offering in 2017.
After the successful launch of an online platform and the J SELECT community on social channels in 2014, a J SELECT APP was launched in 2017. Jebsen Consumer also has opened physical stores across the region. In addition to two new J SELECT stores in Hong Kong, Jebsen Consumer opened its first Mainland China store in Beijing in March 2018. More J SELECT and J SELECT+ stores will open in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen in the future. Furthermore, in 2017 Jebsen Consumer expanded its small domestic appliance portfolio to include more lifestyle and kitchenware brands, such as KitchenAid, Bodum and Smeg. Jebsen Consumer's outstanding performance has been recognised by top-level retailer partners in China, such as Shanghai Bailian Group, LIVAT Centre Beijing, Shanghai Parkson, Wuxi YAOHAN and Wuxi IFS Group.
To expand its geographical coverage and service capability in Asia, while honing in on its expertise, Jebsen Industrial implemented a new business structure comprising of Distribution & Services, Ingredients and Mobility Solutions.
The Distribution & Services division diversified its services in 2017. Jebsen Building Products successfully delivered customised building product solutions to large-scale projects and expanded its portfolio to cater to commercial projects. For professional automation and services, the Dalian Spindle Repair Centre improved productivity by 38% and achieved 126 successful repairs through process optimisation. The collaboration with Angenieux produced Jebsen's own zoom lens EZ-1 and EZ-2 for the cinematic & broadcasting industry in Asia, and achieved ROI in less than nine months.
The new Ingredient division is a 50:50 joint venture partnership between sister companies, Jebsen Group and Jebsen & Jessen Southeast Asia. Operating under the name Jebsen & Jessen Ingredients in Hong Kong, and Jebsen Specialty Chemicals (formerly known as Jebsen Industrial Specialty Ingredients and Solution Business) in Mainland China, this new joint venture brings together the expertise of the two organisations, and establishes a strong regional presence that will deliver better service to customers.
The third division - Mobility Solutions (previously named Automotive Technik), opened a new Jebsen-TCG plant in April, increasing manufacturing capacity from two lines to ten. The total capacity of the new factory is estimated to be four million oil pumps and coolant pumps a year.
As one of the largest Porsche dealer groups in the world, Jebsen Motors continued to build on its record of strong business growth and industry leadership in 2017. It successfully delivered nearly 9,000 Porsche automobiles with close to 20% of its sales initiated through online channels.
In 2017, Jebsen Motors broke new grounds in customer experience innovation. Jebsen Motors launched the Porsche Studio Guangzhou in November 2017, which is the first Porsche showroom in Asia to implement the new Porsche retail format with a fully integrated digital interactive experience. Jebsen Motors also opened Porsche City Service Centre Shenzhen Luohu in 2018 - the first Porsche Centre to feature designs based on the Le Mans racing culture.
Jebsen Motors continues to grow its retail presence as part of a commitment to delivering a superior experience to its customers. The opening of a new Porsche Centre in Nanjing is planned for 2019. Jebsen Motors' exceptional performance earned widespread industry recognition. At the 2017 Porsche China Dealer Conference, Porsche Centre Shenzhen was awarded the Dealer of the Year, with all Jebsen Porsche Centres listed among the Top 10.
Helmuth Hennig, Group Managing Director of Jebsen said, "With more than a century's development, Jebsen Group has established itself as a bridge between cutting-edge products and quality lifestyle in the Greater China. Our long-established presence in the market, local knowledge, and industry specialisation give us the confidence to adapt and grow in a rapidly changing social and economic environment."
"2018 marks the 40th Anniversary of China's Reform and Opening. As one of the first overseas companies to re-enter Mainland China at the very beginning of this new era, Jebsen Group remains fully committed to the Greater China market. And with China taking an increasingly important role in the world, we see greater growth and prosperity in both the economic and cultural arenas for its people."
"At Jebsen we will continue to offer a wide variety of premium products, explore new business opportunities, and continue to make contributions to the communities and societies in which we do business," Mr Hennig added.
About Jebsen Group
Founded in 1895, Jebsen Group is a focused marketing and distribution organisation. With a long, unique established presence and deep understanding of Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, the Jebsen Group is committed to supporting our partners' needs in building market demand, generating and supporting sales, and serving as an important link to customers throughout the region. Under the unified master brand of Jebsen, the Group has six business lines including Beverage, Consumer, Industrial, Motors, Logistics and Jebsen Capital. Jebsen offers some 200 of the world's leading products extensive local market access with a high degree of specialisation. Outside the region, the Jebsen Group enjoys close ties with sister companies in Australia, South East Asia, Denmark, Germany, Middle East and the United States. For more information, visit www.jebsen.com, or follow us on Sina Weibo (weibo.com/jebsengroup), WeChat (id: jebsen1895) and LinkedIn (id: jebsen group).
