| Type | Publicly traded Aktieselskab |
|---|---|
| Traded as | OMX: CARL A, CARL B |
| Industry | Beverages |
| Founded | 1847 |
| Headquarters | Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Key people | Jørgen Buhl Rasmussen (President and CEO), Povl Krogsgaard-Larsen (Chairman) |
| Products | Beers, soft drinks |
| Revenue | DKK 60.05 billion (2010)[1] |
| Operating income | DKK 10.25 billion (2010)[1] |
| Profit | DKK 5.351 billion (2010)[1] |
| Total assets | DKK 144.23 billion (end 2010)[1] |
| Total equity | DKK 69.63 billion (end 2010)[1] |
| Employees | 41,400 (FTE, average 2010)[1] |
| Website | www.carlsberg.com |
The Carlsberg Group ( /ˈkɑrlzbərɡ/; Danish: [kʰɑ:ˀlsb̥æɐ̯ˀ]) is a Danish brewing company founded in 1847 by J. C. Jacobsen after the name of his son Carl. The headquarters are in Copenhagen, Denmark. The company's main brand is Carlsberg Beer, but it also brews Tuborg as well as local beers.[2] After merging with the brewery assets of Norwegian conglomerate Orkla ASA in January 2001, Carlsberg became the 5th largest brewery group in the world. It is considered to be the leading beer seller in Russia with about 40 percent market share.[3] In 2009 Carlsberg is the 4th largest brewery group in the world employing around 45,000 people.[4]
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Carlsberg was founded by J. C. Jacobsen; the first brew was finished on 10 November 1847. Export of Carlsberg beer began in 1868; foreign brewing began in 1968 with the opening of a Carlsberg brewery in Blantyre, Malawi.[5] Some of the company's original logos include an elephant (after which some of its lagers are named) and the swastika. Use of the latter was discontinued in the 1930s because of its association with political parties in neighboring Germany. Carlsberg founder J. C. Jacobsen was a philanthropist and avid art collector. With his fortune he amassed an impressive art collection which is now housed in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in central Copenhagen.
Jacobsen set up the Carlsberg Laboratory in 1875 which worked on scientific problems related to brewing. It featured a Department of Chemistry and a Department of Physiology. The species of yeast used to make pale lager, Saccharomyces carlsbergensis, was isolated at the Laboratory and was named after it. The concept of pH was developed there as well as advances in protein chemistry.[6] The laboratory was part of the Carlsberg Foundation until 1972 when it was renamed the Carlsberg Research Center and transferred to the brewery.
The old brewery in Copenhagen is open for tours and famous visitors have included Winston Churchill and Queen Elizabeth II.
Carlsberg acquired Tuborg breweries in 1970[5] and merged with Tetley in 1992.
In 2008, Carlsberg, together with Heineken, bought Scottish & Newcastle, the largest brewer in the United Kingdom, for GBP7.8bn (US$15.3bn).[7]
Baltic Beverages Holding is currently owned by Carlsberg. Previously, it was a joint venture between Carlsberg and Scottish & Newcastle in Russia.[7] The company is a significant operator in the brewing industry in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic countries and Kazakhstan. It has a majority interest in OAO Baltika Breweries, the largest brewery in the Russian Federation and Eastern Europe[8].
In 2007 Carlsberg and Heineken International announced that they would make a bid for Scottish & Newcastle. After much negotiation, Scottish & Newcastle agreed to the sale in early 2008, and it was completed in June 2008 after receiving shareholder approval, for an amount close to £8 billion. Most of Scottish & Newcastle operations in China, Vietnam, France and Russia & Eastern Europe were transferred to Carlsberg, including Scottish & Newcastle's share of Baltic Beverages Holding.[9]
Carlsberg Polska is the Polish subsidiary of the Carlsberg Group. Carlsberg acquired 100% control of the Okocim Group, which included the Okocim Brewery, in 2004.
The subsidiary owns four brewing plants and employs 1,250 staff. It is the third largest brewing company in Poland with a 14.4% market share.[10]
Back in 1876, Carlsberg started to export beer to China.[11] In late 1990s, Carlsberg had two breweries in China – Huizhou and Shanghai. The company acquired Huizhou Brewery of Guangdong province in 1995, which started to supply both the Chinese and Hong Kong market. The brewery is one of the best quality brewery of Carlsberg around the world.[11] Carlsberg invested around US$30m in its Shanghai brewery, which started production in 1998. In 2000, Carlsberg sold a majority stake in its Shanghai brewery to Tsingtao Brewery.[12] Carlsberg formerly had a brewery in Tai Po, Hong Kong, which was established in 1981, but shut it down in 1999[13] due to high costs.
In 2003, Carlsberg acquired the Kunming brewery and the Dali brewery in Yunnan province. At the time, the Dali brewery is the largest beer brewery in Yunnan.[14] In 2004, Carlsberg became a major shareholder in Lhasa Brewery in the Tibet Autonomous Region. At 3,700 metres above sea level, Lhasa Brewery is believed to be the highest altitude brewery in the Carlsberg Group.[13]
In 2008, Carlsberg sold its remaining interest in the Shanghai brewery to Tsingtao Brewery.[15]
In August 2011, Carlsberg announced to form a new joint venture with Chongqing Brewery and Chongqing Light Textile Holding. Chongqing Light Textile Holding is a major shareholder of Chongqing Brewery. The joint venture, to be called Chongqing Xinghui Investment Co., Ltd, would operate 12 breweries in China in Chongqing, Sichuan, Guangxi, Guizhou and Hunan. Chongqing Brewery would contribute five breweries and Chongqing Light Textile Holding would contribute seven breweries into the joint venture. Carlsberg would inject 160 million Danish crowns (about US$30.90 million) and have a 30% interest in the venture.[16]
Brands held by the Carlsberg brewery group:
Carlsberg India Pvt. Ltd. headquartered in Gurgaon, National Capital Region, India is a foreign direct investment company formed to brew and market Carlsberg beer in India. The company has also brought the Tuborg and Palone brands into India. Palone is sold as a 'strong' beer with 7.5% alcohol by volume. Strong beers dominate the Indian market, estimated in 2008 to total approximately 17 million hectolitres with over a 72% share. Carlsberg is available in most states of India, with three operational breweries in Alwar, Rajasthan; Aurangabad, Maharashtra both of which started in the summer of 2008 and the former Hacke-Beck brewery in Ponta Sahib, Himachal Pradesh where brewing commenced in July 2007. Carlsberg India Pvt. Ltd. currently employs over 200 professionals and is headed by Søren Lauridsen.
Carlsberg Beer (also called Carlsberg Lager and Carlsberg Pilsner) is the beer most people expect when ordering a Carlsberg. A 3.8% – 4.6% abv pale lager or pilsner, first brewed in 1904.[19] In Denmark the beer is often known as Hof (court) due to its Royal Warrant. This nickname was adopted into the brand in 1931 but discontinued in Denmark in 1991. The term is still use in other markets such as Sweden.[20]
Special Brew is a strong lager brewed in Denmark and the United Kingdom. It was initially brewed by Carlsberg to commemorate a visit to Denmark by Winston Churchill in 1950.[21] In May 1951 two crates were delivered to Churchill's London home. In a thank you letter Churchill called the drink "Commemoration Lager". In Denmark the drink was called Påskebryg (Easter Brew), but the Easter Brew has been replaced by a weaker beer (Carls Påske). For the British market Carlsberg called the drink Special Brew and production was started in Northampton in the 1950s.
At 9% alcohol, Special Brew is part of a group of strong lagers that are termed "super-strength" in the UK and malt liquor in the USA. This beer is associated with binge drinking amongst vagrants.[22]
In 1901, on brewer Carl Jacobsen's initiative the Architect, Professor J. L. Dahlerup created a tower resting on four elephants carved in granite from the Danish island Bornholm. Brewer Jacobsen was inspired by this gate by the obelisk supporting elephant on the Piazza della Minerva in Rome.[23] The four elephants each bear the initial of one of Carl Jacobsen's four children: Theodora, Paula, Helge and Vagn. This became known as The Elephant Gate and is a landmark entrance to the brewery. To the west of the gate, Carl Jacobsen's motto was inscribed: Laboremus pro Patria (Let us work for our country). Since then the Elephant has been a famous part of the Carlsberg Family, especially after the strong Elephant Beer was created in 1955 under the name “Export Lager Beer” and featuring the Elephant label. Marketed in Ghana, the Gold Coast, Nigeria and on promotion in Malawi. Launched on the Danish market as Elephant Beer on 9 November 1959. The Elephant is still brewed in Carlsberg Breweries in Copenhagen and exported around the world. A few markets brew their own Carlsberg Elephant beer locally according to the original recipe.
A result of the take over of Scottish and Newcastle Brewing, Carlsberg now control the San Miguel brand in the United Kingdom.
The Carlsberg Visitors Centre is located at 11 Gamle Carlsberg Vej, 2500 Valby, Denmark at the location of the first Carlsberg Brewery. In the courtyard is a smaller replica of the Little Mermaid Statue that Carl Jacobsen donated to Copenhagen. Also located in connection with the Carlsberg visitors Centre is the Jacobsen House Brewery, a micro brewery creating the Jacobsen specialty range of hand-crafted beers. The entry ticket includes a free drink at the bar. The center can be reached by bus no. 18 or 26 from downtown Copenhagen.[24]
Carlsberg's tagline "Probably the best beer in the world" was created in 1973 by Saatchi and Saatchi for the UK market. It began to appear in company corporate ads around the world from the 1980s onwards. The voice over for the original ad. in 1975 was voiced by actor Orson Welles,[25] his voice has been used repeatedly over the years. The Canadian-born voice-over artist Bill Mitchell was also used when hiring Orson Welles became too expensive. In some countries the tagline has been adapted to "Probably the best lager in the world".[26]
Carlsberg was featured in the film Ice-Cold in Alex (not, however, in the book on which the film was based) as the lager the main cast get to drink after driving across the desert. Lines from the film gave rise to one of Carlsberg's best known advertising slogans in the UK: "worth waiting for".
Carlsberg has been criticised of breaking their own code of conduct for alcohol advertisement in Malawi.[27]
Sponsorships from Carlsberg comes in two forms, sharply separated: either from the Carlsberg Brewery as part of their commercial campaigns, or as significant contributions to arts and sciences via the Carlsberg Foundation (who owns the brewery).
Carlsberg Brewery was one of the major sponsors of Euro 2008. Carlsberg was one of the major sponsors of the 2004 European Football Championship and use the promotional slogan "probably the best lager in the world"; they were also a sponsor of the 1990 FIFA World Cup. Carlsberg were best known in the UK as the main and shirt sponsors of Liverpool F.C. having sponsored the club from 1992 until 2010. With Liverpool being the only UK city exhibiting at the World Expo in Shanghai – its twin city, the Carlsberg logo on the Liverpool F.C jersey was written in Chinese for the league match against Chelsea F.C on May 2, 2010. Carlsberg also sponsor F.C. Copenhagen, Havant and Waterlooville, Odense Boldklub, Pirin Blagoevgrad and are also the secondary sponsor (after Eircom) of the Republic of Ireland national football team and Tottenham Hotspur F.C.. Carlsberg also sponsors other sport events, such as golf and skiing. On 13 July 2011 Carlsberg signed sponsorship contract with Hajduk Split. As of August 2011 Carlsberg also became Arsenal F.C's official beer sponsor.Carlsberg has also sponsored the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens in 2011. Carlsberg was also the sponsor of the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kings XI Punjab in season 4 of the league, with its logo appearing on the caps and helmets of the team.
The Institute of Theoretical Physics (also known as the "Niels Bohr Institute") in Copenhagen, which was one of the leading international centers for theoretical physics during the 1920s and 1930s and is said to be the birthplace of quantum mechanics, was created in 1921 with significant funding from the Carlsberg Foundation.
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