INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE
I'd walk sideways for a Heineken!
3
4
6
8
G. van Schaik on future of Heineken:
Number 27
August 1990
Contents; if
page:
Top-flight
customer service
Beer supplies
to Greek islands
Continued U.K.. growth
for Murphy's Stout
New crates
for Multi Bintang
More than a year ago he took over the helm from Mr Heineken:
as Chairman of the Board of Directors, G. van Schaik (59) was
given the task of steering the business safely into the 'nineties
and of preparing it for the changes on the world beer market.
Mr Van Schaik was interviewed for The World of Heineken
exportmagazine. We thought you'd like to read some of the
main points he made in that interview.
Strong brands
International role
Export
International personnel magazine. Published six times a year in I
'Exploring new markets
and building up brands'
Upon his departure as Chair
man of the Board Mr Heineken in
dicated that throughout the world
there are still vast areas unex-
ploited by the business. Mr Van
Schaik fully agrees with that view
and points to some of the fields
which van be explored: 'Over the
next ten years we will be able to
play an active role in new regions
such as South America and Eastern
Europe. We have to reconnoitre
A
a
those markets and identify the best
way of establishing our presence
there. This may be via exports, or
via a licensing agreement or a par
ticipation.
In the late 'seventies and early
'eighties Heineken was highly ac
tive in acquiring interests in brew
eries in Europe. The then Board of
Directors had already foreseen that
increasingly tighter links would be
forged between the countries of
Europe; particularly if the EC
really gained a solid foothold. Ten
years on, we can now draw up a
provisional balance sheet:
Heineken has meanwhile acquired
interests in breweries in France,
Spain, Italy, Greece and Ireland.'
But Heineken is looking beyond
the borders of Europe. The entire
world is our market and, with that
basic idea in mind, the business
must continue to treat Heineken
beer as its number one brand, feels
Mr Van Schaik. 'Our strategy is to
be active internationally with
strong beer brands, with the main
emphasis focused, as ever, on
Heineken beer. But we mustn't
have too many international
brands. Let me put it even more
Suppose you love skin-
diving and you also have
photography as a hobby.
What better than to com
bine the two? At any rate
you can shoot the most
amazing pictures, as the
above photo shows.
During one of his many
dives off the coast of Dub
lin, Bill O'Brien, a
Heineken beer fan from
Ireland, came across a crab
on the sea-bed jealously
guarding a can of
Heineken. Bill didn't hesi
tate and grabbed his cam
era (for those in the know:
the Nikonos IV) and cap
tured this unique moment
on film. Our thanks go to
Bill O'Brien who sent in the
photo to Murphy's Brewery
in Cork.
strongly: our company would have
no future if we were to fritter away
our marketing activities and divide
our attention between too many
brands.'
A handful of international
brands (Heineken, Amstel, Buck
ler, Murphy's) is therefore suffi
cient from a corporate viewpoint.
For the local operating companies
which have to work with one or
more of these brands, a national
brand is often a must. This brand
(for instance, Dreher in Italy and El
Aguila in Spain) is needed to en
able the company to play its own
specific role in the local market.
'The operating company has
more freedom with such a national
brand, but it still has to work ac
cording to the guidelines that we
draw up to ensure consistency of
quality and brand policy.'
None the less Mr Van Schaik can
see a more international role for a
few brands, provided that there is a
proven need for such a beer in an
other country. 'Suppose that mar
ket research in a country shows that
a need exists for a product like, say,
George Killian from France. If so,
we would really have to consider
using the brand name for that
country, as we obviously should
not keep on re-inventing the wheel.
It would be foolish if we didn't first
look at what's available within the
concern.'
The tasks and guidelines for the
operating companies are clear. The
export department, which works
only with international brands, has
a special part to play in the overall
framework. Mr Van Schaik sees a
twofold task for this department:
'In the first place Export has to
market our international brands in
the segments we want to sell them
in. We have to be strict about that:
if we cannot build up a premium
position in that market, then we
will not introduce one of our
brands.'
'Export's second task is to act as
market scouts. The export staff
travel a lot. And that's good, as it
takes them into markets where they
pick up all sorts of signals. And
now we come to a very important
element. That wealth of experience
within Export must also be chan-
continued on page 2