Slovakia
Bulgaria
Macedonia
Other European countries
Regional Review
Europe
players in the market. Amstel Brewery Hungary's sales
were down from 516,000 hi to 486,000 hi, but the result
held steady thanks to improvements in the sales mix
and cost savings.
Sales of Heineken beer were especially good, with the new
50-cl can sold through supermarkets proving particularly
successful. Sales of the Amstel and Talleros brands were
down. Rationalisation of the number of Amstel packaging
variants to cut costs entailed some loss of sales, but
produced an improved result. Marketing plans to increase
Amstel sales are under development. Amstel Brewery
Hungary installed almost 300 David dispensers at
customers' premises.
Growth in market share and result
The Slovakian beer market grew by around 5%, mainly
in the alcohol-free and lighter beer segments. Low-priced
beers still account for the bulk of this market. Heineken
Slovensko reported growth in sales from 2.1 million hi to
2.2 million hi, which translated into an increased market
share, and an improved result.
Zlaty Bazant, our local premium beer in Slovakia, continu
ed to consolidate its position. Sales were up and Zlaty
Bazant is now the leading beer brand in Slovakia. The on-
trade contributed most of the growth in Corgon sales. Our
Gemer brand performed particularly well in the low-priced
beer segment, with sales up by almost 50%, but sales of
our regional Martiner brand were down.
Heineken Slovensko acquired a number of beverage
wholesalers and made good progress in building its nation
al distribution network.
Capacity at the Hurbanovo malt-house was expanded
from 80,000 tonnes to 135,000 tonnes. With a total capaci
ty of 165,000 tonnes, Heineken Slovensko is one of the
largest malt producers in Europe.
Zagorka brewery attains market leadership
Despite the Bulgarian beer market contracting by over 6%
in response to higher excise duties, our Zagorka brewery
increased its sales by 2% to 1.0 million hi, making it the
market leader, and posted a stable result.
Zagorka, the mainstream brand in the range, performed
well and the Amstel and Ariana brands held their position.
Ariana is the leading brand in the large low-priced beer
segment, which still accounts for over 60% of the market.
Imported Heineken will be added to Zagorka's brand
portfolio in 2003. Costs were lower in 2002, thanks to the
brewery modernisation projects implemented in the past
few years.
Pivara Skopje posts improved result
Beer consumption in Macedonia rose last year. Pivara
Skopje increased its sales to 0.5 million hi and posted
an improved result.
Sales of Skopsko, the leading beer brand in Macedonia,
were higher, as were sales of imported Heineken and
Amstel beer. Pivara Skopje started distributing Heineken
beer in May 2002, which has brought benefits in terms
of the quality and cost of marketing and distribution. Sales
of soft drinks declined, in the face of competition from low-
priced imports. Work on increasing capacity at the brew
ery is progressing steadily and will be completed in 2003.
The beer marketintheUnited Kingdom contracted.
Sales of Heineken Cold Filtered and Heineken Export were
lower, in advance of a change in marketing strategy, and
Amstel sales were down a little. At 58 million hi per year,
the UK is the second largest beer market in Europe. With
lagers in general and premium brands in particular grow
ing rapidly at the expense of traditional ales and stouts, it
has been decided to launch Heineken beer imported from
the Netherlands in the premium segment in early 2003,
via our own marketing and sales organisation. Heineken
Cold Filtered beer, a reduced-alcohol variant, will be with
drawn during 2003. We plan to support the launch with
intensive marketing campaigns and expect the Heineken
brand to have secured a strong position in the premium
segment within five years. A new licensing agreement was
signed for the production and sale of Murphy's Irish Stout
and Murphy's Irish Red. Sales of these beers were down
and a plan has been devised to restore the market share to
its previous level.
The Affligem brewery in Belgium reported sharply
increased sales. Around 75% of Affligem abbey beer is
HEINEKEN N.V. ANNUAL REPORT2002
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