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In Portugal sales of imported Heineken
beer rose slightly. The building-up of a
nation-wide distribution network was
continued. Sales of Green Sands shandy
were below the 1987 level.
In Belgium we changed our marketing
strategy. The unprofitable sale of draught
beer was terminated; the sale of
Heineken bottled beer, both in the
take-home market and in the hotel,
restaurant and café sector, will be
continued via a new market approach.
Mouterij Albert N.V., our operating
company which produces high-grade
malt, especially for our breweries in
Europe, achieved good earnings.
Exports of beer, soft drinks and spirits
to Eastern Europe developed satis
factorily. In view of the shortage of hard
currencies in those countries export
volumes will remain modest.
International duty-free sales showed a
recovery. This was above all due to the
improvement in the course of business
in the shipping sector.
Beer sales in Western Hemisphere
(in millions of hectolitres)
1984 1985 1986 1987 1988
Western Hemisphere
The emphasis of the activities in the
Western Hemisphere lies on exports of beer
from the Netherlands to the United States,
Canada and the Caribbean.
The enterprise has a brewery in Canada
and also interests in breweries in Trinidad,
Martinique, St. Lucia, the Netherlands
Antilles, the Bahamas, Haiti and Jamaica
as well as In Surinam, the Dominican
Republic, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and
Paraguay. In Costa Rica production takes
place under licence. In a number of
countries also soft drinks are produced.
North America
As in the previous year, the size of the
total beer market in the United States
was stable. The import segment showed
a further growth, though it was only slight.
Although the popularity of several new
brands seems to be decreasing,
competition remained strong, as a result
of which the pressure on margins
persisted. Shipments of Heineken beer
from the Netherlands kept pace with the
growth in the import segment.
In the segment of imported light beer
competition intensified, but sales of
Amstel Light rose considerably. This
brand kept its leading position. During
the year under review the enterprise was
again able to maintain its prominent
position on the import market. This was
to a considerable extent due to the
marketing efforts of our importer Van
Munching Co. Inc., which amongst
other things launched a new advertising
campaign for the Heineken brand.
The prospects in the United States for
our brands are positive.
In Canada the sales of our subsidiary
Amstel Brewery Canada Ltd. rose slightly,
but earnings remained disappointing.
The growth in sales occurred mainly in
the case of Amstel beer and Amstel
Light. Sales of imported Heineken beer
remained stable, despite keen competition
on the market for imported beers.
Sales of beer brewed in Canada under
licence from third parties declined.
