Despite decline in Dutch spirits market
Emphasis
"To put it bluntly, the market for distilled products is
gloomy. The total market has declined by 35% over the past
ten years and it hasn't bottomed out yet. But that doesn't
mean we should all be gloomy. The market has declined be
cause of factors we ourselves can do nothing about. But there
are ways of helping to ensure that GWN can continue to be
successful. We are aware that consumers are drinking less,
but at the same time they are opting for quality. So the future
lies with the 'A' brands. And GWN has some extremely
strong brands in its range. We have to strive for higher
margins: seeking to earn more despite a lower volume."
Revamping
Bacardi
Exports
PAGE 6 HEINEKEN INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE NR. 14
blackcurrant geneva was showing
signs of ageing; it was drunk by
older women and there were no
young consumers joining the
group. But that research also show
ed that the price was right and also
that Coebergh blackcurrant geneva
invariably came out top in taste
tests. So we knew we had a high-
quality product, but one that had a
bad image."
On the basis of the research find
ings an energetic start was made
on what is known in the marketing
jargon as the 'repositioning' of Coe
bergh blackcurrant gin. In the past
blackcurrant gin had often been
used for mixed drinks. GWN decid
ed that in the advertising campaign
the emphasis would be placed on
drinking Coebergh with blocks of
ice. If you know that the consumer
appreciates Coebergh most for its
taste, then you must continue to
present that product in a recognis
able way. Mixing with ice will bene
fit Coebergh's distinctive flavour,
that was how GWN saw it. The ap
proach was a success; it has mean
while become quite normal in Hol
land to order a 'Coebergh on the
rocks'.
Convincing the younger age
groups of Coebergh's qualities was
The new-look bottle of Coebergh
blackcurrant gin which initially
posed some problems for the pack
aging engineers.
GWN management
confident about future
Managing Director Y.H.M.N.
Folmer of the Dutch Spirits and
Wine Group ('Gedistilleerd en
Wijngroep Nederland', or GWN
for short) has plotted out a distinct
course, as have the rest of the man
agement. "It is inportant for the
personnel to know that the manag
ement has confidence in the future.
Our people have to realise that we
are not really worried about this
year's volume loss, but that we are
busy with the question: 'What will
our position be in five years' time?'
That's what's really at stake!"
Since the late 1970s GWN has
been located in Zoetermeer. It was
formed from three businesses: Coe
bergh, Bokma and Van Olffen.
Distilled drinks were produced in
five different locations in the Neth
erlands under the management of
a head office in Amsterdam. This
spread of production units became
very costly and it was decided to
build new premises in Zoetermeer.
The 1980s were marked by the
closure of the old units and the
transfer of their production to Zoe
termeer. Unfortunately, the transi
tion also cost jobs. More efficient
working practices and the onset of
the market decline forced the man
agement to reduce personnel num
bers over the years from 300 to 185.
Mr. Folmer's comments on the
reorganisation measures: "Over
the past years we have had to take
some difficult decisions. But people
accepted them because they could
see the need. I regard it as one of
my most important tasks to be very
open and honest in explaining to
the personnel why certain measures
have to be taken."
But GWN is not letting itself be
overtaken by events. Apart from
reorganising, it is busy developing
new products and 'revamping' its
existing range. All with that one
aim in mind: to market as many top
brands as possible.
One good example of thet 're
vamping' is Coebergh blackcurrant
geneva. Ten years ago this black
currant gin was almost exclusively a
tipple for elderly ladies. Despite
this fact, GWN made efforts to
change the target group for Coe
bergh. Mr. Th.A.F. de Rond, Mar
keting Manager at GWN, explains
why: "We conducted consumer re
search and found that Coebergh
Part of the GWN distillery.
the second major objective of the
product's 'facelift'. To quote Mr.
De Rond: "Ten years ago it was ab
solutely unusual for young people
to drink blackcurrant gin. Because
of its image as a drink for older
people,the young ones didn't drink
it. In the advertising campaigns we
placed great emphasis on the young
er consumer, and it worked. In the
discos today you regularly see
young people of both sexes drink
ing Coebergh with ice."
A changing product image also
means modifications to the pack.
In 1980 a tentative modernisation
of the label had already been made.
"That change could not be too
farreaching, as we didn't want to
frighten off our loyal, older con
sumers. Coebergh had to remain
recognisable to them", says Mr. De
Rond.
But eight years later the change
has taken place after all. The look of
the bottle has given a radical face
lift. It took two years and dozens of
bottle desgins before the definitive
version ultimately appeared. The
striking feature is the label which
is fixed diagonally between two
ridges on the bottle. The labelling
process for the new bottle now runs
smoothly, but it cost GWN's tech
nical people quite some headaches
before they overcame this problem
But there's more to it than just
Coebergh. GWN has other irons in
the fire for the future. Its range also
includes the world-famous Bacardi
brand. The results of Bacardi white
rum are very satisfactory and for
the past few weeks Bacardi Pre
mium Black has also been on the
Dutch market. This dark-coloured
rum is a fairly new product of Ba
cardi. Holland is the fourth country
to introduce Premium Black and
The Bokma bottling line. By extending the Bokma segment, GWN seeks to
maintain its sales volume.
GWN is full of confidence about
this product's future.
Bokma 'young grain' geneva is
another of the absolute top brands
in GWN's range. The aim is that the
number of products under the
Bokma brand name will be further
extended in the years ahead.
Alongside the long-established
'old' geneva, Bokma Jonge Koren
wijn was introduced last year. At
the moment work is being done on
a Bokma Oude Korenwijn. It is not
known when the product will come
on the market, as the product devel
opment process has not yet been
finalised.
The export activities for distillery
products have to date remained
modest. Until a short while ago the
export of GWN's spirits was han
dled alternately by Heineken Brou
werijen B.V. and Duncan, Gilbey
and Matheson in London. Recently
GWN took change of exports itself.
As to the outlook for exports, Mr.
Folmer is clear: "We have to seize
opportunities, but we mustn't
overdo it, as we have a range with a
highly national flavour. However,
we are fairly optimistic about ex
port possibilities to Germany, Bel
gium and the United Kingdom.
Perhaps we could achieve good re
sults with Coebergh in the United
States, for that is the product which
offers us worldwide prospects. Pro
visionally, as far as Coebergh is
concerned, I still see success on the
American market as a dream for
the future. Exporting to the United
States is mainly a matter of time and
timing. We first have to make very
good preparations. For the mo
ment our priorities in the export
area will be the duty-free sector and
the markets in Europe."
