Coopers' NSW beer sales exceeded those of its home state of South Australia in January, cementing the status of the 150-year old brewer as a national brand.
Coopers is the largest Australian-owned brewer but South Australia has remained its strongest market until now.
In calendar year 2012, South Australia represented 30.5 per cent of total sales, but that figure is falling as interstate sales increase, said Coopers' chairman, Glenn Cooper.
He said that while the result was not repeated in February, March or April, there was no doubt that its NSW sales would soon overtake South Australia on a regular basis.
On a year-to-date basis (July to April), South Australia accounted for 29 per cent of Coopers’ total sales compared with almost 26 per cent for NSW, Cooper said.
“However, the gap is narrowing quickly. January was the first month that more Coopers beer was sold in NSW than South Australia (two million litres verses 1.6 million litres), but we don’t think it will be long before this becomes common place.”
He said the company's sales in NSW have been increasing at double digit or close to double digit rates for the past 10 years and are continuing to grow strongly.
Cooper said this underlined the transition Coopers was making from being a South Australian beer maker to a national brand.
He said it also reflected the hard work the company's distribution company, Premium Beverages, which is responsible for the distribution of Coopers’ beers in the eastern states and Western Australia, as well as Coopers’ international brands, Carlsberg, Sapporo, Kronenbourg 1664 and Mythos.
The broader Australian beer market has dipped in recent years but Coopers' sales growth has remained strong. Coopers' managing director, Dr Tim Cooper, recently told Food & Drink Business the growing popularity of boutique beer had helped the company defy the downturn.
New figures from the Brewers Association of Australia and New Zealand back this trend. These show that the amount of craft beer produced in Australia is increasing by six per cent every year, while mainstream beer sales are declining.
Coopers' NSW beer sales are poised to overtake those in SA, its home state.
