N E W S L E T T E R O F T H E J E B S E N G R O U P 2 0 1 9 N O . 3 V O L U M E 1 1

Generations of GratitudeTracing Jebsen’s long history with the Chau family from Hainan

Born In Germany, Raised in Greater ChinaHow the “Girl with Torchlight”became Blue Girl Beer

A Comprador and FriendRemembering Yuen Lung Cheong (1881-1944)

Jebsen & Volkswagen Igniting Beetle fever in Hong Kong

The Jebsen Group today is the result of many generations’ hard work, skill, dedication and loyalty. Each generation lived in a different time and dealt with different challenges but, as a Group, we have never once steered off our path in pursuit of excellence. That is because our core values have remained unchanged throughout the years.

2 | T H E B I G P I C T U R E

Rather than thinking of “excellence” as a single result, we prefer to approach it as a daily habit. We believe that excellence is not a skill, but an attitude. It is not about being the best, but about always giving our best. When we understand “excellence” in this manner, something else also becomes clear : that when excellence becomes second nature, it is embodied by people and reflected on an organisation.

Our people have proven that, when we strive for excellence, we can achieve the seemingly impossible. Blue Girl Beer’s rise to fame is perhaps the best example of this. When we first acquired the Blue Girl Beer agency, it was a fledgling business. Blue Girl was a working-class beer with limited market value until our people, not ready to give up, made the radical decision of reengineering the recipe and moving its production base in 1988. We rebranded Blue Girl, broadened its distribution channels to include popular upmarket locations, and invested heavily in advertising and promotion. By 1992, with a six per cent market share, Blue Girl Beer was ranked third in the Hong Kong market. By 2006, Blue Girl took the top spot and has reigned ever since. Read the full story on page 3.

I firmly believe that the quality of a company is seen through our people.

EXCELLENCE EMBODIED

Hans Michael JebsenGroup Chairman

The good standing that Jebsen enjoys today is the direct result of the hard work of our colleagues, past and present.

In our early days, we also benefited greatly from the dedication of our compradors, such as the Chau family — from patriarch Chau Kwang Cheong (d. 1908), a close confidant of our co-founders and a key figure in enabling us to secure the South China shipping market shortly after our founding, to his eldest son Chau Yue Teng (1872-1933), who was our first comprador who provided timely help after the First World

War. On Chau’s recommendation, Yuen Long Cheong became our comprador and flourished with our dyes business after the First World War. Learn about our history with the Chau family and Yuen on pages 8 and 10 respectively.

As we celebrate our 125th anniversary in 2020, I would like to express my appreciation and gratitude to everyone who has played a part in Jebsen’s success. Thank you for being a benchmark of excellence.

S E C R E T T O S U C C E S S | 3

In 1906, Jebsen & Co. was still a relatively young player in the world of trading. Buoyed by early success and guided by the sharp business acumen of its co-founders, the company kept a keen eye out for new growth opportunities.

BORN IN GERMANY, RAISED IN GREATER CHINA How the “Girl with Torchlight” became Blue Girl Beer

One such opportunity became apparent when the German firm Lauts, Wegener & Co. in Hong Kong announced its intention to pull out of the China trade.

That same year, Jebsen acquired the agency of Remmer Brewery from Lauts, Wegener & Co. The brewery based in Bremen, Germany, produced traditional pilsner lager, which was sold in Hong Kong with a distinctive “chop” (or trademark) dubbed the “Girl with Torchlight”. Jebsen purchased the rights to this chop as well.

Buying Blue Girl Beer in Hong Kong, c. 1970.

Bottles of Blue Girl Beer on display, c. 1950s.

4 | S E C R E T T O S U C C E S S

A Quiet Adolescence

With agency rights in hand, Jebsen oversaw the sale and distribution of the lager in Hong Kong. By 1913, Jebsen was selling 10,000 boxes a year. In the absence of a brand name in the early 20th century, people used the chop as the beer’s identifier, colloquially referring to it as “blue girl”. The nickname became so ubiquitous that by the 1930s, Jebsen decided to officially name the brand Blue Girl Beer, and one could find her stocked at local department stores such as Sincere and Wing On.

Blue Girl Beer billboard advertising, Hong Kong, 1950s.

Blue Girl Beer on display at its 100th Anniversary Party, 2006

For decades, however, Blue Girl Beer was a wallflower — present but overlooked by most. Targeting blue collar workers, the traditional German recipe produced a strong, bitter taste, along with her relatively high alcohol content of five per cent made her a value-for-money option.

Even more challenges lay ahead. In the early 1980s, when the Deutsche Mark appreciated and threatened to wipe out Jebsen’s already-modest margins, the company seriously considered closing the chapter on the brand. That was, until, the idea of giving Blue Girl Beer a radical makeover was considered.

“A girl in loose garments, with bare arms and legs and with a crown on her head, floating through the air on clouds. She is standing on a winged wheel, holding in her uplifted right hand a flambeau, bearing the word ‘Excelsior’ and issuing gold rays.”

A description of the chop, which was registered in Hong Kong in 1893

The “Girl with Torchlight”

S E C R E T T O S U C C E S S | 5

Transforming into Jebsen’s Golden Girl

In 1988, Jebsen took the daring first step in Blue Girl Beer’s transformation — to shift production from Germany to South Korea. After all, nearer meant fresher and lower transportation costs.

The money saved on production and shipping costs were directed to sales and marketing efforts to make Blue Girl more appealing to a wider population and expand its market share. At the same time, Jebsen made the bold decision to finetune Blue Girl’s age-old recipe to create a taste that would be a better match for the Asian palate.

It worked like a charm.

By 1992, Blue Girl Beer had nearly doubled its market share and gone from being a bystander to a rising star. Blue Girl climbed to third in terms of Hong Kong market share. It was an achievement made more impressive by the fact that the two leading beers were brewed locally, and this gave the Jebsen team the encouragement they needed to push forward.

To create a new image for Blue Girl Beer, the Jebsen team shifted their focus from traditional sales to embracing marketing and branding as well. Gradually, Blue Girl Beer could be spotted at upmarket restaurants and classy bars, as well as supermarkets and convenience stores.

In the mid-1990s, the company further broke new ground by featuring a hit song, “Waiting for a Girl Like You” by Foreigner, a British-American rock band, in Blue Girl Beer’s TV commercials. It was such a success that the brand continues to be associated with the song even today — a feat made possible by Jebsen’s collaboration with different artistes over the years, producing renditions that range from unplugged to rock, to keep it as fresh and evergreen as the brand itself.

In 2006, Blue Girl Beer was crowned Hong Kong’s number one beer and has held that position ever since.

Always Fresh, Always Refreshing

In a 2007 interview, current Group Managing Director Helmuth Hennig credited Blue Girl Beer’s renewed “freshness, taste, and price” as the foundation upon which the company was able to slowly but steadily build the brand.

In 2008, Jebsen positioned Blue Girl Beer as a premium imported beer and introduced it to Mainland China. Supported by the company’s deep familiarity with the market, Blue Girl Beer did exceedingly well. Its sales volume has increased 10 folds in four years. In 2018, Jebsen announced its new Blue Girl Beer joint venture with AB InBev, which has given Blue Girl Beer immediate access to a much larger distribution capability across Mainland China.

Whether in Hong Kong or Mainland China, the Blue Girl Beer brand is carefully managed by Jebsen. Like an evergreen celebrity, Blue Girl has appeared in popular TV dramas, hit movies, and popular sporting, lifestyle, and music events. At over 110 years old, Blue Girl is still the coolest lady in town.

6 | S E C R E T T O S U C C E S S

Jebsen & Volkswagen:

IGNITING BEETLE FEVER IN HONG KONG

Accelerating Volkswagen’s Popularity

1st Volkswagen Beetle arrives in Hong Kong

19531954

In February 1953, Jebsen Group ran an advertisement in the South China Morning Post announcing exciting news — the company had been appointed sole agent for Volkswagen. Two short months later, the first Volkswagen vehicle arrived in Hong Kong.

It was a Volkswagen Beetle, of course, and the start of the city’s love affair with the iconic car.

For almost 40 years, Jebsen sold and serviced Volkswagen vehicles in Hong Kong. By 1965, its two service centres were caring for about 2,000 cars a month. With an estimated 65 per cent of Hong Kong’s Volkswagen population relying on the company for prompt and professional services, Jebsen invested heavily in talent development and centre capabilities. At the time, it already had the facilities to complete an engine changeover within an hour, while a complete engine and transmission change could be done within three hours. Its Kowloon spare parts store also made news as one of the largest of its kind in East Asia, carrying over 14,000 Volkswagen spare parts worth some HK$1 million at the time.

1953Jebsen secures the Volkswagen agency in Hong Kong

In 1965, Jebsen stocked over

14,000Volkswagen spare parts – enough to build an entire car

By 1970, the Volkswagen Beetle

was the No.1

most popular single model motor car in Hong Kong

5,000 Volkswagens sold

1965

1969

10,000 Volkswagens sold

100 Volkswagen Beetles sold

Jebsen Motors Service Centre, Hong Kong, c. 1970.

Courtesy of Volkswagen Archive

S E C R E T T O S U C C E S S | 7

In 1968, the Cross-Harbour Tunnel did not exist. Getting from one side of Victoria Harbour to the other meant taking a ferry — unless you had the creativity and capability to convert a Volkswagen Beetle into an amphibious vehicle, as two Jebsen Motors employees did. Service Manager Herbert Adamczyk and Sales Manager Jan von Doetinchem, with the help of their colleagues, spent weeks getting the car “shipshape”. The doors were sealed with a rubber compound to make it watertight, cooling equipment was removed from the engine to reduce weight, and a propeller and rudder system were installed to make the car steerable. Three sea trials later, the “Water Beetle” was deemed seaworthy.

Its maiden voyage took place in the afternoon of August 16, 1968. The car was lowered by crane into the water in Tsim Sha Tsui. The motor whirred to life and the two men set sail, much to the amazement of onlookers. The Beetle slowly made its way across the harbour at a speed of 5 knots (about 9.26 km/h) and, 27 minutes later, arrived at its destination — the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club in Causeway Bay. It made headlines the next day.

While the feat was not an official initiative by Jebsen, the company cleverly rode on public interest and ran a tongue-in-cheek advertisement two days after the crossing. It said: “Save on ferry fares. Buy a Volkswagen.”

The “Water Beetle”

A Volkswagen Beetle being unloaded in Hong Kong, c. 1970.

During this time, the Volkswagen Beetle became Hong Kong’s most popular single model motor car, especially amongst the city’s burgeoning middle class. Sales were sustained not only by the car’s affordable reliability and Jebsen’s service facilities, but also the company’s promotional efforts, which were extensive, engaging and sometimes over-the-top.

Imagine buying a flat at the then-upmarket Oriental Gardens estate in Kowloon in 1967 and have it come with a 1968 Volkswagen Beetle absolutely free. Or tuning into the top-rated TV programme Enjoy Yourself Tonight to watch “Miss Jebsen” Jennifer Fok spin the “Jebsen Wheel of Fortune”, where a Beetle was the first prize.

Or taking a ferry across Victoria Harbour, only to find a floating Beetle driving through the water beside you.

Jebsen really did make a splash with Volkswagen in more ways than one.

Jebsen manager Rudolf Kardel (front) with a Volkswagen Beetle, late 1950s – early 1960s.

GENERATIONS OF GRATITUDE: REMEMBERING CHAU KWANG CHEONG (D. 1908) AND HIS ELDEST SON CHAU YUE TENG (1872-1933)

8 | O U R P E O P L E

The story of Jebsen & Co. is often told as a tale of two families in Asia. But there is a third family, the Chaus from Hainan, that is so deeply intertwined with the company’s beginnings that our co-founder Jacob Jebsen hung a portrait of Chau Kwang Cheong on the walls of his Hamburg office while his own portrait had a place in the Chau family’s ancestral hall in China.

Companion in Adversity

The history of the three families dates back to 1886, even before Jebsen & Co. was founded. At the time, Chau Kwang Cheong (d. 1908) was a Hainanese merchant who ran the Chinese shipping companies Yuen Cheong Lee & Co. in Hong Kong and Yuen Fat Lee & Co. in Haikou. For his business in South China, Chau regularly chartered ships from the M. Jebsen Shipping Company and this led to a close relationship – although they never once met – with its owner, Michael Jebsen (IV). When Michael’s son, Jacob, arrived in Hong Kong in late 1894, Chau Kwang Cheong was one of the first people to meet him.

In 1896, international politics of the day threatened Chau’s business. Upon learning of the situation, Jacob Jebsen offered to run Chau’s shipping line as a solution. He also appointed Chau as Jebsen’s first shipping agent in Haikou, solidifying the friendship and cooperation between the

families and securing a foothold in the South Chinese shipping market.

Over the years, Chau became a close friend of the company but never officially worked as a Jebsen employee. According to Jacob Jebsen’s memoirs, on the day before his death, Chau Kwang Cheong urged his descendants and staff to be loyal and honest to Jebsen. This request was fulfilled by his son Chau Yue Teng.

[Chau] Kwang Cheong was a splendid type of old Chinese. He was reliability itself. For many years, he worked faithfully and diligently for our company and brought it to prosperity.Jacob Jebsen writing about Chau Kwang Cheong in his memoirs (1928)

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Chau Yue Teng (second row, third from left) with Heinrich Jessen (centre) in a Jebsen staff photo, Hong Kong, 1913.Chau Kwang Cheong

O U R P E O P L E | 9

16th March 1933

My dear Mr Jebsen, Please accept this photo of mine taken recently as a token [of] our pleasant relationship which has existed for about 40 years and which I feel convinced will last forever in our lifetime. With best wishes for your journey home.

I remain, Yours very sincerely, Chau Yue Teng

In 1933, Chau conveyed his close relationship in a letter to Jacob Jebsen. An Outstanding Son

Born in Hainan, raised in Hong Kong, and educated in Singapore, Chau Yue Teng (1872-1933) had already in his youth accompanied his father Chau Kwang Cheong into the business world and cultivated a strong business acumen. Along with his father’s wealth, social standing and connections, his aptitude in English also made him the perfect candidate to become Jebsen’s first comprador in 1901.

After Jebsen’s acquisition of the BASF agency in South China in 1897, Chau became a key figure in developing the company’s BASF dye business. He visited numerous dyeworks in the countryside, towns and cities, handing out samples and providing guidance to local dyers, who were still using natural dyes, and convinced them to use BASF’s artificial indigo. Within a decade, sales soared tenfold, thus

What we are today, we owe to the House of Jebsen. You have been our benefactor and we are indeed grateful.

Chau Wah Po, the third and youngest son of Chau Kwang Cheong, in a letter to Jacob Jebsen (1939)

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laying a solid foundation for Jebsen’s early business.

Jebsen’s business was thriving and Chau Yue Teng’s career was flourishing, but both came to an abrupt halt in 1914 with the outbreak of the First World War, which forced the closure of Jebsen’s offices. Chau Yue Teng was forced to part ways with the company and then founded a firm under his own name which took over Jebsen’s large stocks of BASF indigo.

After the war, Jacob Jebsen and Heinrich Jessen were eager to resume their China trade. In 1919, they reconnected with Georg Krüger, who had been the company’s manager in Guangzhou before the war, and through him, got in touch with Chau Yue Teng. He immediately stepped in to help.

Chau obtained an office and warehouse for the company, agreed to work as an agent for them in Hong Kong, and recommended his capable and well-connected dyes shroff Yuen Lung Cheong to be Jebsen’s dyes comprador in Guangzhou. Chau even loaned the two founders US$40,000 as working capital.

With Chau’s help, by early 1920, the company was able to load a steamship from Hamburg to the Far East with cargo that included BASF dyes. Pent-up demand in post-war China saw the goods selling well and at high prices, generating handsome profits that helped with the rebuilding of Jebsen in Guangzhou. The company maintained a close relationship with Chau until his death in 1933.

10 | O U R P E O P L E

A COMPRADOR AND FRIEND REMEMBERING YUEN LUNG CHEONG (1881-1944)

Yuen Lung Cheong served as Jebsen’s comprador in Guangzhou from 1921 to 1939. His tenure wasn’t particularly long but his connection with the company ran so deep that it continued even after his passing.

Yuen Lung Cheong with his family in Macau, 1940. (Courtesy of K. S. Yuen)

Born in Heshan, Guangdong, Yuen left his hometown and headed to Hong Kong at the age of 17. He worked under Chau Yue Teng in Jebsen’s comprador department and later in Chau’s dyes company, where he gradually developed networks in the dyes business. While he never had a formal education, he spoke pidgin English as well as limited German.

After the First World War, Jebsen was keen to resume its once-flourishing dyes business in South China. In 1921, Yuen joined Jebsen’s Guangzhou office on the recommendation of Chau Yue Teng, on the strength of his capability, honesty and connections.

In 1927, Jebsen got the sub-agency of Defag (a subsidiary of the chemical giant I. G. Farben in which BASF was incorporated) in South China. With this acquisition came a new product: indanthrene. Through successful marketing came a craze for colour-fast and durable indanthrene-dyed qipaos, robes (changpao), and school uniforms in the 1930s and 1940s, which was

further encouraged by fashion icons such as Soong Mei Ling. Today, indanthrene’s enduring cultural influence can still be seen in fashion and movies.

Yuen proved to be a brilliant trader by helping Jebsen to secure the leading position in South China’s dyes market, thus earning him the nickname “the King of Dyestuffs”.

However, with the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, Jebsen & Co. was compelled to give up the sub-agency and parted ways with Yuen, who then joined Defag. But decades of camaraderie did not fade. Yuen continued to be a close friend of the company until he passed away in 1944.

It is reported from Hong Kong that our old [Guangzhou] comprador, Mr Yuen Lung Cheong, [has] died. With Yuen Lung, who essentially guaranteed our dye business in [Guangzhou], I had a very close relationship.

Michael Jebsen (VI) writing about Yuen Lung Cheong in his diary (January 8, 1945)

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O U R P E O P L E | 11

Yuen Lung Cheong (front row, third from right) with Jacob Jebsen (fourth from right) in a Jebsen staff photo, Guangzhou, 1925.

Yuen Lung Cheong in Macau, 1940. (Courtesy of K. S. Yuen)

Yuen Lung Cheong (front row, left) and Jebsen staff with BASF director Hermann Waibel (front row, centre) in Guangzhou, 1922.

Jebsen Garten: In Memory of Yuen Lung Cheong

Dr Yuen Chung Cheong at the entrance of “Jebsen Garten”, June 22, 2018. Dr Yuen Chung Cheong in Xiaonan Village Folk Culture Museum, Heshan, 2018.

When you travel to Heshan now, you may discover a tranquil garden open to public with a sign, “Jebsen Garten” hanging at the entrance. What is the relationship between Jebsen and the garden?

In 2011, Yuen Lung Cheong’s son, Dr Yuen Chung Cheong, built this beautiful garden in Heshan to commemorate his father. He named it after his father in Chinese and “Jebsen Garten” in German, which is a strong testament to the depth of the relationship between the Yuen family and Jebsen.

12 | O U R G L O B A L F O O T P R I N T

About Jebsen GroupJebsen Group is a Hong Kong-headquartered company representing quality products, services, investments and solutions across the beverage, consumer, industrial, motors, and logistics industries. It enables some 200 of the leading product companies and their brands to successfully market their products throughout the Greater China region. Brands believe in Jebsen due to its track record of adding value to their presence in Greater China and because it has built consumer trust in its company and partners. Jebsen’s success in Greater China is complemented by its demonstrated commitment to being a responsible business partner, employer, and corporate citizen. Outside the region, the Jebsen Group enjoys close ties with sister companies in Southeast Asia, Australia, Germany and Denmark. For more information, visit www.jebsen.com.

Jebsen & Jessen Hamburg is a “Recognised Good Trainer”

Sister company Jebsen & Jessen Hamburg has become the first training company to be recertified as a “Recognised Good Trainer” by AGA Unternehmensverband, a leading corporate and personnel management association in North Germany.

The quality seal of approval is the result of an independent survey, which invited Jebsen & Jessen Hamburg’s apprentices to share their experiences with the company.

“All participants in the survey are satisfied with the training and can easily envisage continuing to work for the company after their apprenticeship,” said AGA Managing Director, Mr Volker Tschirch as he presented the certificate to Managing Partner of Jebsen & Jessen Hamburg, Mr Fritz von der Schulenburg in June 2019.

With contribution by Dagmar Glissmann

Jebsen & Jessen Ingredients Feeds New Possibilities

Jebsen & Jessen Ingredients, a regional business unit of sister company Jebsen & Jessen Group, has secured the exclusive distributorship rights to Blue Aqua International’s aquaculture and animal nutrition products in Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. The agreement was inked in March 2019.

“Jebsen & Jessen Ingredients’ deep expertise in specialty ingredients distribution and customer support makes it a perfect fit with us,” said Dr Farshad Shishehchian, CEO & Founder of Blue Aqua International.

This was echoed by Mr Marc Deschamps, Regional Managing Director & CEO of Jebsen & Jessen Ingredients, who added, “Strong distribution experience paired with an even stronger technological partner is a good recipe for growth.”

With contribution by Anthea Ho

GMA Garnet Unveils Advanced Plant Facility in USA

In June 2019, sister company GMA Garnet launched a new garnet processing and recycling plant in Coos Bay, Oregon to support the growing demands of the aerospace, manufacturing and ship maintenance industries along the West Coast of USA.

It is the sister company’s most advanced facility in the world and the first to offer used garnet recovery and recycling solutions to customers in the West Coast region.

“Our used garnet recovery programmes will help customers lower their garnet disposal costs and give them peace of mind that their garnet waste is responsibly managed with minimal impact to the environment,” said GMA CEO Mr Stephen Gobby.

With contribution by Stephanie Cheong