Page 21 - Kirin Holdings Teaching Note

Q & A

Some simple questions and answers may help to illuminate

the areas that will emerge when using the case study.

Q1 Is Kirin Holdings a sales-orientated company?

A1 Kirin Holdings is far from a sales-oriented company.

Kirin Holdings has always prided itself on using the best

for its products. Today it carries on this tradition but

with a renewed and enhanced focus on the customer

with the backdrop of its CSV matrix. The short answer

therefore, is that Kirin Group is both a product and

marketing-oriented company.

Q2 Is there a dichotomy between maximising shareholder

return and the costs of creating shared value?

A2 Management at Kirin Group would probably answer

this by saying that they have achieved a stable

shareholder payment which is probably well above

industry average and given the introduction of CSV

have provided a growth driver for future returns.

Q3 Why was Kirin Brewery among the first Japanese

brewers to shift its orientation away from price, putting
even greater emphasis on brands.

A3 “[Kirin Ichiban] some of us wanted it priced like a

standard beer, others disagreed, everyone had an

opinion which was only natural in the end we decided