Bottled water market grows +14.3% in Japan last year. Suntory owns top brand but loses share; Coca-Cola's second-ranked Woods Water gains. Market totals 105 mil cases; Japanese per-capita bottled water consumption far below U.S./Europe. Data includes non-flavored water; excludes significant sales of "near water." Table. Shows shares, share changes and volume changes, 2001 vs 2000, for top-10 Japanese bottled water suppliers and brands. Covers retail channels and is from Japanese beverage analyst Hisashi Nakai.
Market. Japanese water market see-saws over past four years. Grows +9.9% in 1998 and then posts massive +28.6% growth in 1999; Nakai says growth due to "overstock due to Y2K demand." In 2000, volume falls -2.7% as retailers work through overstock inventory. Double-digit growth pace picks up again last year. Consumption. According to Nakai, Japanese per-capita consumption is about 1/6th of U.S. and 1/12th of Europe. Notes "optimism" for growth prospects. Adds: "Market of bottled water is expected to grow for many years to come."
Top players. Suntory and its main brand grow below-industry. Coke posts double-digit growth. Coke executive says marketing "focuses mainly on value pricing, and no TV commercials" have been used. Plus. Top-growth companies were Ohtsuka and Sapporo, but shares are in low single-digits. Nestlé, while ranked #5, does not field top-10 water brand. Overall, top-10 companies account for 66.2 share of market; top-10 brands hold cumulative 62.6 share. Trends. According to Nakai, "In recent years, home delivery of PET bottled water is a booming business; virtually every supplier and many truck delivery companies are engaging in this business." He adds, "consumption of bottled water in a big container to be delivered to (an) office is still small ... but it is growing."
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