Jebsen Group (Chinese: 捷成集團) is a marketing, investment, and distribution organisation founded in 1895.[3] It is headquartered in Hong Kong with offices in Mainland China and Macau. It consists of four business lines: Beverage, Consumer, Motors, and Jebsen Capital. It offers market access for over 200 leading companies to build their brands and market share in Greater China.[4]
Hans Michael Jebsen is the chairman of the group, with Alfons Mensdorff-Pouilly serving as the CEO.[5][6]
History
Heinrich Jessen (1865–1931)
Jebsen & Co. was established in Hong Kong in March 1895 by second-grade cousins Jacob Jebsen and Heinrich Jessen from Aabenraa. The company started as a shipping agency owned by Jebsen's father, who had a fleet of fourteen coastal steamers on the Chinese coasts. With expanding business range, in January 1909 Jebsen & Jessen Hamburg was founded to coordinate the European business. In December 1963, Jebsen & Jessen Group was founded by Arwed Peter Jessen to concentrate on business in South-East Asia.[7]
Milestones
1896: Jebsen becomes a member of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce[8]
1897: Initial venture into the industrial sector, acquiring a BASF agency to import indigo dyes to China
1898: Establishment of Diederichsen, Jebsen & Co., Jebsen's first joint venture in China; its businesses include a Qingdao brick factory
1941: Co-founder Jacob Jebsen died in Aabenraa at the age of 71. His eldest son took over the reins and Heinz Jessen and Michael Jebsen signed a new partnership agreement in Shanghai in January 1944.
1953: The import of Hong Kong's first Volkswagen Beetle[10]
1955: The import of the territory's first Porsche, covering sole Porsche Car distribution in Hong Kong and Macao with additional seven dealerships in Mainland China.[11]
1957: Attending the inaugural Canton Fair
1970: Collaboration with Siemens on a 10,000-line, computer-controlled public telephone system at Lai Chi Kok's Telephone Exchange
1973: Modern Terminals Limited officially opens Hong Kong's first container terminal in Kwai Chung
1978–1979: The first Liaison Office opens in Beijing
1991: Jebsen Fine Wines is established in Hong Kong
2001: The import of Mainland China's first Porsche[10]
2018: Opens New Plant in Dalian, together with Austrian partner TCG Unitech
Corporate structure
Jebsen Motors
Jebsen Motors has represented Porsche in Hong Kong since 1955 and on the Chinese mainland since 2001. Globally, it is one of the longest-serving and largest Porsche dealer groups.[12]
As Porsche China's Dealer of the Year for the seventh consecutive year in 2021, Jebsen Motors delivered more than 11,000 cars to the Chinese mainland, Macau and Hong Kong in 2021,representing approximately 12 percent of Porsche's total regional sales during this period.[13]
Jebsen Beverage
As the largest beer company in Hong Kong,[14] Jebsen Beverage has been selling Blue Girl Beer since 1906, making it one of the most historic imports in the market. In 2019, Jebsen Beverage formed a joint venture on the Chinese mainland with the world's largest beer brewer AB InBev to accelerate Blue Girl Beer's growth in the Mainland market.[13]
Jebsen Consumer
Jebsen's focus in the consumer business has been on small domestic electrical appliances[15] for over 40 years. Jebsen Consumer represents many brands, including Bang & Olufsen and Casio.[16]
Jebsen Capital
Founded in 2017 as the investment division of Jebsen Group, Jebsen Capital is one of the early investors in the German COVID-19 vaccine manufacturer BioNTech and has led the Series C extension for the Berlin-based healthtech company PlusDental.[17]
Group logo
The Jebsen Group's logo, established in the founding year of 1895, shows, surrounded by a laurel wreath, three mackerels on top of each other, with the top and bottom ones directing to the left side and the middle one to the right. The logo is related to the heraldic shield of the founders’ hometown in Aabenraa, which belonged to Germany in 1895 but was handed over to Denmark in 1920.[18]
^"Thriving beyond three generations". The Business Times. October 2, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2021. …the storied Jebsen & Jessen Family Enterprise co-founded by his grandfather in 1895. The business was started by cousins Jacob Jebsen and Heinrich Jessen
^"Riding the wave of consumption-led growth". China Daily. Retrieved August 11, 2021. A private marketing and distribution company established in 1895 with more than 120 years of continuous presence in China, these days Jebsen represents more than 200 leading brands across various industries.
^"Korean-made beer dominates in Hong Kong". The Korea Herald. April 9, 2013. Retrieved August 11, 2021. 'We acquired the premium German beer brand Blue Girl back in 1906, in an aim to appeal to the high-class consumer group,' said Glover.
^ abc"From the captain's log". China Daily. October 5, 2015. Retrieved August 11, 2021. Importing Hong Kong's first Volkswagen Beetle in 1953 and the first Porsche sports car to the Chinese mainland in 2001.
^"Jebsen Tempers China Exuberance". Wall Street Journal. May 15, 2010. Retrieved August 11, 2021. Ten years ago we started with Porsche in China. There was nobody who wanted to touch Porsche at that time but we had been doing Porsche in Hong Kong for 45 years.
^"Riding the wave of consumption-led growth". China Daily. March 17, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2021. Our focus in the consumer business is on high-priced, small domestic electrical appliances.
^"Berlin-based PlusDental snaps up €35 million to take its aligner dental-tech global". EU Startups. March 21, 2021. Retrieved August 11, 2021. The Berlin-based healthtech company PlusDental has announced a €35 million funding round from international investors, which will be used to fund further expansion. The Series C extension was led by Jebsen Capital, the investment division of the HK based family business Jebsen Group, and one of the early investors in the German Corona vaccine manufacturer BioNTech.
^Laura Miller, Arne Cornelius Wasmuth FAN YI ZHENG YAN, Three Mackerels: The Story of the Jebsen and Jessen Family, Hongkongnow.com Ltd, 2008.
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