TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Major Japanese brewer Kirin Brewery Co. said Wednesday it will import Guinness and other drink products from major British alcoholic beverage maker Diageo PLC and will commence selling them in Japan from June 2009 as part of efforts to boost its lineup of imported beverage products.
Sapporo Breweries Ltd. has been selling Guinness in Japan since 1964 but its contract with Diageo is set to expire next May.
"We believe Kirin is the best partner for us to realize our further growth in the Japanese market," Diageo's Japan unit said.
Diageo's shift to Kirin could deal a blow to the earnings of Sapporo, which is already losing market share in Japan.
Sapporo sold Diageo products worth a total of around 7 billion yen in 2007, equivalent to 2.2 percent of its total domestic sales of alcoholic beverage products.
By volume, Sapporo's sales of Diageo products hit a peak of 545,000 cases in 2006 but fell to 526,000 cases in 2007 and are expected to total 534,000 cases in 2008.
One case contains 20 large bottles.
"We intend to take the end of our contract (with Diageo) as an opportunity to develop a new product," a Sapporo spokesman said.