INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE
Honorary doctorate and silver
medal for A.H. Heineken
Poor weather
without
Strobos?
Number 2]
August 1989
Heinefcen Oceania
anniversary
Tuas building
Progress in pictures
s Prc"notion
Murphy's Ireland
Especially in the coun
tries of Southern Europe
beer sales are highly de
pendent on the weather. In
lands like Spain and Italy
plenty of sunshine means
plenty of beer sales. In
May and June people in
Spain really grumbled
about the weather and
about R.V. Strobos, for
mer general manager of El
Aguila.
New concept spreads:
"And for the rest I'd prefer to be a little secretive about this,
if you don't mind" said Mr. R. van de Vijver of the Board of
Directors during the press conference on the annual report,
when he was asked whether Heineken would also be produc
ing a 'dry beer'. Competitive considerations were Mr. Van de
Vijver's motives for keeping a low profile, but from his words
it could be deduced that Heineken might perhaps introduce
such a beer in future. And that has meanwhile happened. Last
month our Spanish operating company El Aguila introduced
its 'dry beer' under the name 'Dry 100'.
In Holland, too
Recently Mr. A.H. Heinek
en again received two further
honours. The University of
Rochester (in the state of
New York, United States)
awarded him an Honorary
Doctorate of Law. This Hon
orary Doctorate was conferred on him on 8 July 1989 during
a meeting held to mark the awarding of MBA degrees to a
group of students. Three weeks before that Mr. Heineken had
already been awarded the silver medal of the City of Amster
dam for his services to the city.
Contents:
International personnel magazine. Published six times a year in Dutch, English, Spanish and Italian by: Corporate Public Relations, Heineken N.V., P.O. Box, 28, 1000 AA Amsterdam. Tel. 020-70.22.68. q
From the moment when he
left Spain to become director of
Heineken Nederland. the
weather in Spain turned miser
able. Some Spaniards suggest
that Mr. Strobos must have tak
en all the sunshine back with
him to Holland, where May
and June brought record spells
of fine, summery weather. Now
it is a matter of waiting to see
whether another move by Mr.
Strobos will cause further up
sets in the European weather
pattern.
Launch of
dry beer
One of El Aguila's aims is seek
ing a leading position for its vari
ous brands: Aguila for the stan
dard segment, Adlerbrau for the
standard, special segment. Buckler
in the low-alcohol segment, and
Heineken in the super premium
segment. To maintain these lead
ing positions the marketing depart
ment must always keep a close
watch on the market and conduct
research. During their analysis of
the market El Aguila's marketeers
came across one potential market
which is currently not yet being
developed by any other brewery in
Spain: the market for a smooth-
drinking, sugar-free 'dry beer'. (All
sugars in the beer have been con
verted into alcohol.) On the initia
tive of El Aguila's marketing de
partment Dry 100 was developed
within a mere seven months.
The Spanish beer market is full
of movement. In recent years the
beer market has expanded in terms
of both production and consump
tion. Last year as many as 27 mil
lion hectolitres were brewed (in
cluding beers for export).
Forecasts for the coming years are
rosy. Experts anticipate considera
ble market growth and estimate
that by 1993 there will be an annu
al consumption of 100 litres per
Dry 100: the new product in Spain and Holland.
head of the population aged 15
years and older.
But it is not only this strong
growth that El Aguila has to re
spond to. At the same time there is
also a change in the structure of
the market. The consumer is
showing more and more interest in
special beers, such as light, low-
alcohol beer, brown ale and dry
beer.
Shortly after El Aguila put Dry
100 on the market, Heineken
Nederland also announced the
launch of Dry 100, Mild Beer. In
the Netherlands the new beer will
be on sale from September on
wards. In Holland, too, Heineken
is the first brewer to introduce this
new type of beer.
Administration at the University of
Rochester and the Economics Fa
culty of Erasmus University Rot
terdam. A part-time programme
has been developed for the MBA
degree (Master of Business Ad
ministration) in which people can
continue their normal job and
study for eighteen months to
achieve the prized American MBA
Mr. Heineken.
Honorary Doctor of Law.
Mr. Heineken received the Hon
orary Doctorate for his great ser
vices to the strong internationalisa-
tion of the business and for his
personal contribution to creating
worldwide familiarity for the busi
ness and the Heineken brand. The
great interest he has always taken
in social and scientific develop
ments formed a further reason for
this award.
The University of Rochester has
been operating on the European
market since 1986 via a joint ven
ture between the William E. Sim
on Graduate School of Business
Mr. Heineken receives the City of Amsterdam's silver medal from Mayor
Ed van Thijn.
degree and an equivalent degree
from Erasmus University Rotter
dam.
At the current time 70 people
are taking part in the degree
course. One group gained its MBA
degree on 8 July and Mr. Heinek
en received the Honorary Doctor
ate on that same occasion. Present
at the ceremony were businessman
William E. Simon, whose name
has been linked to the Business
School of the University of Ro
chester since 1986. He is a former
U.S. Minister of Finance, former
president of the American Olym
pic Committee and a bestselling
author. Others attending included
top people from Dutch industry
and government.
The silver medal of the City of
Amsterdam was presented to Mr.
Heineken by Burgomaster Van
Thijn. Mr. Heineken was honoured
for the great efforts he had made
for numerous initiatives in the city,
for special events such as Amster
dam 700, Sail, and the centenary
of Amsterdam's Concert Hall.