One of China’s biggest brewers, and maker of Snow, the world best-selling beer by volume,confirms the resignation its chairman amid stagnant sales

One of China’s biggest brewers, China Resources Beer (Holdings) Co Ltd, has announced the resignation of its chairman and executive director Hou Xiaohai. The company said in a stock exchange filing that Hou has stepped down to focus on other personal engagements. His resignation also includes relinquishing his roles in three board committees – executive, finance, and share option – effective immediately.

Hou had served as the company’s chief executive officer since 2016 and was appointed chairman in April 2023. Under his leadership, China Resources Beer pursued premiumisation strategies and diversified into the spirits business to offset slowing growth in the core beer segment.

The company also announced that Zhao Chunwu, currently serving as president and an executive director of the company, will temporarily assume the responsibilities of chairman while the board decides upon a permanent successor.

The company has a dominant presence in the Chinese beer market and is a unit of state-owned China Resources (Holdings) Company Limited. It is the maker of Snow, the world’s top-selling beer by volume.

In recent years the brewer has been shifting toward higher-margin products in its efforts to regain growth momentum, but for the year ended 2024 the company reported a consolidated turnover of CNY38.63 billion (US$5.39 billion), down 0.8% from a year earlier. Revenue from its beer business also declined 1% to CNY36.49 billion, in contrast to its baijiu business which posted a 4% increase in turnover to CNY2.15 billion.