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Gosling Brothers
Bermuda. Waving palm trees, luxury residences, a restful
retreat for many an American. A jewel of an island where it's
good to spend some time relaxing. The emphatic presence of
Heineken and Amstel make that stay even more pleasurable.
The tiny island in the Atlantic Ocean is one of the many coun
tries that Heineken exports to. Two importers are active for our
company on Bermuda. It may perhaps sound paradoxical, but
practice has shown that a healthy spirit of competition exists
between the importers of Heineken (Burrows Lightbourn) and
Amstel (Gosling Brothers), who together hold the majority of
the Bermudan beer market.
College weeks
WAREHOUSE
HEINEKEN INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE NO18 PAGE 4
The beer market in Bermuda can
be roughly divided into two
categories: American and European
beers. The presence of American
beers is not so unusual in view of the
big influx of tourists from that coun
try. And yet the American tourist is
more interested in the European
beers such as Heineken and Amstel.
The local population, too, reveals a
distinct preference for European
beers. Not surprising in view of the
island's history (Bermuda is a
British colony). And again Heine-
ken and Amstel are the beers the
local people like to drink; each
brand with its own public who
appreciate its specific flavour.
Because of the warm climate
people in Bermuda drink their beer
very cold. The thirsty beer-drinker
wants to see a refreshing, thirst-
quenching glass of beer on the bar.
This low serving temperature influ
ences the head of foam. The head is
at its best if Amstel and Heineken
are served at a temperature of 6-8
degrees Celsius. If the beer is stored
at a cooler temperature, the foam
collar collapses faster in the glass
after serving.
The sales, marketing and distribu
tion of Heineken and Amstel on Ber
muda are handled by the importers.
Mr. P. van Dongen Torman, who is
the Heineken area export manager
and operates from Willemstad on the
Antillian island of Curasao, main
tains contacts with both the impor
ters. He handles such matters as the
supply of advertising materials, con
sults with the importers on sponsor
ing activities and gets together with
them to draw up the sales targets for
the following year. At least twice a
year Mr. Van Dongen Torman visits
both importers to talk about current
business and clear away any prob
lems.
In Dundonald Street in the capital
Hamilton stands the head office of
Gosling Brothers, importers of
Amstel beer since 1953. Gosling
Brothers is responsible for sales of
Amstel and Amstel Light. The com
pany name speaks for itself; the busi
ness is ran by the Gosling family.
Cleanwhite beaches are one of Bermuda's main
Mr. C. Scheltema, now man
ager with Heineken Technisch
Beheer, has been accorded the
title of Director. The Executive
Board decided on this new title
because of the way in which the
post has developed and is cur
rently being performed.
Mr. H. Krijgsman is the new
area export manager military
markets. He succeeds Mr.
R. Marijnen who was
appointed head of the hotels, res
taurants and bars sector for Hol
land some time ago.
M.A.E Greeve is the new man
ager of Heineken Import S. A. in
Lausanne, Switzerland. He suc
ceeds Mr. R.A. Würster who
has resigned for health reasons.
Mr. Greeve had already spent
one year working for Heineken
Import S.A. as national account
and marketing manager.
With effect from 1 st April
R. Duursma will be appointed
to the post of deputy general
manager of PT Multi Bintang in
Indonesia. Currently based in
Singapore as area export manag
er Far East, Mr. Duursema will
be succeeded by Mr. J.G.C.M.
Jansen, whose former post was
that of area marketing manager
for the Caribbean.
Mr. R van Westrhenen, previ
ously regional export manager
Far East, has been appointed
manager regional coordination
Asia/Australia.
Bermuda: beery island
in the Atlantic
Seven Goslings are represented in
the management. For instance,
Charles Gosling is marketing man
ager, his cousin Malcolm heads the
commercial department.
To bring the Amstel brand to the
consumer's attention, Gosling
Brothers does a lot in the way of
advertising and sponsoring. The
Amstel importer almost always uses
the local radio station for its advertis
ing messages. "Radio commercials
are very cheap and very effective.
We chose the medium of radio
because the supermarkets on the
island very often use the radio broad
casts as in-store background music.
Which means we also reach the con
sumers whilst they are actually sj
doing their shopping", explains n
Charles Gosling.
almost six hundred thousand tourists
every year. By far the majority
(85%) of these visitors carry an
American passport.
Bermuda owes that big influx of
tourists to its mild climate. Contrary
to what many people think, Ber
muda is not a tropical island. The
sun shines there abundantly during
many months of the year, but the
island does have a winter period as
well, yet we shouldn't immediately
imagine people walking round with
frozen noses. During the summer the
mercury climbs to more than 30°C.
Charles Gosling in front of the office and distribution centre of Gosling
Brothers, the importers of Amstel beer on Bermuda.
"And how are you today?" "Have
a nice day!" Anyone visiting Ber
muda will hear these words dozens
of times a day. They're not just the
obligatory polite phrases, but
genuine expressions of warm inter
est. Bermudians are sociable people
who easily make contacts with strang
ers. A characteristic that stands
them in good stead in the tourist
industry where hospitality is so
essential. And tourism is of vital
importance for Bermuda: the island's
sixty thousand inhabitants welcome
The pleasant climate also has a
great impact on beer sales. During
the 'winter' months (November to
the end of February) the sales fig
ures reveal a sharp decline. The
statistics for December show a slight
upward swing because of Christmas
beer sales, but the first two months
of the year are poor again. Each
year, therefore, the importers of
Heineken and Amstel look forward
eagerly to the 'college weeks' in
March. Many American students
then travel to Bermuda for a sunny
spring vacation. Each year the arri
val of this group of young people
signals the start of the new summer
season for the importers.
Richard Hartley, managing director of Heineken importer Burrows Light-
bourn, shows the overflowing bags of Heineken crown corks collected dur
ing a special campaign for bartenders.
