Venus Teoh (left), SABECO’s deputy general director for marketing, received the Inspirational Brand award

Shares in SABECO have been a winner in recent times. On the local stock market, SABECO (code SAB) shares in the first week of 2023 saw three consecutive rises, reaching a high of VND183,500 ($7.90).

The brewer attained bright financial prospects for 2022 thanks to the recovery of socioeconomic activities. Although it targeted $1.5 billion in net revenues and $200 million in after-tax profit for the year, a respective increase of 32 and 17 per cent on-year, SABECO accomplished 96.6 per cent of its profit goal in the first nine months alone.

SABECO was one of the few firms in the Vietnamese stock exchange system to retain annual dividends last year due to its potential in the consumer sector, annual cash flows, and sizable cash reserves.

In particular, the business paid a dividend of 35 per cent in both 2019 and 2020, and a similar payment was attained for 2021. Last year, it retained the 35 per cent dividend that will be paid out in two parts in 2023.

The results came, in part, thanks to the second phase of the SABECO 4.0 transformation initiative in 2022, aiming to further step up in its journey to enhance competitiveness and profitability.

SABECO 4.0 is a strategic initiative to use digital technology to transform the company and was first introduced in 2020. It entails reforming organisational and business processes, utilising data to make better decisions, increasing information flow, enhancing governance structures, and using digital tech for practical and automatic operations.

To strengthen its position as the market leader in the Vietnamese beer market, SABECO intends to optimise, standardise, and automate how it operates across the country.

General director Bennett Neo said that SABECO 4.0 can help lower costs and boost revenues. “All processes must be standardised, centralised, and made simpler. You would make more money if you increased your income and decreased expenses. Better capital expense management would also result in decreased depreciation. As a result, SABECO 4.0 has an impact on every aspect, including the bottom line,” he said.

With the aid of SABECO 4.0 and governance measures, the corporation will concentrate on the pillars of sales, brand/marketing, production, supply chain, people, and unlocking processes and assets that the company has not yet optimised.

Boosting the national brand

In the past few years, company leaders made the decision to focus on immediate digital transformation to increase operational effectiveness, enhance customer service and product quality, and eventually, bolster SABECO’s brand recognition.

Bia Saigon, a brand owned by SABECO, combined two of the most beloved drinks together in one last year to launch Bia Saigon Coffee-infused Beer, which is made with carefully chosen coffee beans from Vietnam’s highlands.

Last April, Bia Saigon itself was reborn with a new taste, packaging, and positioning to better meet the needs of consumers after more than 20 years in the market. Bia Saigon Special is particularly recognised by many Vietnamese people for its special taste and iconic packaging.

From the desire to dedicate itself to raising the national brand of Vietnam worldwide, SABECO has built a sustainable development model as the focus of the group’s long-term development strategy.

Early in 2022, SABECO strengthened its operational capabilities with the newest expansion of its facilities with a capacity of 250 million litres per year, helping to cement its footprint and market share in Vietnam.

For this Lunar New Year season, SABECO has been cooperating with the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour and the Central Youth Union to implement “Together to Make Tet”, which is handing out gifts to 8,000 workers nationwide amounting to over $243,000, with the aim to honour the contribution of the workforce to the economic development of Vietnam.

Through schemes such as those for Lunar New Year, SABECO has been increasing its sustainability initiatives in tandem with corporate expansion by forming alliances with the public sector, private sector, and non-profit organisations. With an emphasis on the four 4Cs of consumption, conservation, country, and culture, it continues to strengthen its commitment to sustainable development, and Bennett Neo said the company will launch projects while keeping in mind its sustainable development plan.

“With a primary focus on topline growth and value generation, SABECO will collaborate with all of our partners to advance our company,” Neo added. “We will continue to be on the lookout and concentrate on our business results, as well as our aim to thrive on bringing out the finest in Vietnam and promoting our brands around the world.”

In particular, last year the company deployed many projects to accompany Vietnamese culture and tourism. Activities included the Ngo Soc Trang boat racing festival, the Vietnamese culture and food festival in South Korea, the Thailand CHAO Art Exhibition, and C ASEAN – an entity under ThaiBev that aims to foster regional collaboration.

In addition, SABECO also demonstrated its commitment to promote the development of the country’s sports industry through the Vietnam Wins Gold drive in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism. In that time, Bia Saigon contributed over $213,000 for training activities and developing sports talent; while the Vietnamese brand is also a leading partner of the national football team and has been a main sponsor for various tournaments and other events.

The support and cooperation from the Vietnam Sports Administration, the Vietnam Football Federation, related governmental agencies, the community, and accompanying sponsors have given the nation the opportunity to witness the intense positive impact of football on society and bring Vietnamese sports closer to international achievements.

Meaningful contributions

Also in 2022, SABECO entered into a 3-year strategic partnership with the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCMYU) focusing on specific areas to improve youth capacity as well as build healthy lifestyles and sustainable development activities. Within the framework of cooperation, the two sides have been working together to implement practical and meaningful community initiatives. For instance, the Light Up the Rural project promotes the use of renewable energy with the construction of 34km of solar-powered street lights in dozens of rural areas in over 30 provinces of Vietnam. This was attained with a total contribution of $185,000 from SABECO and its subsidiary companies.

The Luong Dinh Cua award, meanwhile, that is an annual award from the HCMYU’s Central Committee and given to young people in rural areas with outstanding achievements in production, business, sci-tech, and environmental protection. A series of training programmes on innovation power to equip rural youth with knowledge and improve economic capacity have also been carried out.

With its never-ending efforts to appease consumers in a drinking environment that is constantly changing in terms of both the economy and culture, SABECO is on pace to make considerable progress with product innovation and transformation for the future. In particular, SABECO has concentrated on making sure that its brands embody the heart and soul of the Vietnamese people, particularly the modern consumer’s optimism and elevated standards of quality.

After 147 years of making the Vietnamese people happy with its products, SABECO’s dedication to open innovation is now showing results. For instance, the Asia Beer Championship 2022 honoured Bia Saigon for its outstanding products and its innovation to meet customers’ needs. Flagship brands Bia Saigon and Bia 333 have also been consistently recognised for outstanding quality by prestigious local and international organisations, such as the Vietnam Value programme, for several years.

The company also received a gold medal at the International Brewing Awards 2019, a gold, silver, and bronze at the International Beer Cup 2019; a gold and silver at the Australia International Brewing Award 2020; and gold and silver at the Monde Selection Awards 2021.