Netherlands
Regional Review
Western Europe
Group volume in Europe 2003
in millions of hectolitres
Beer consumption in Europe 2002
per capita in litres
Group volume
Europe
in millions of hectolitres
66
60
54
48
42
36
30
2-1
18
12
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which has significantly strengthened our
market position and has helped to bring
our operations in Central and Eastern
Europe together in a more cohesive
structure.
Operations
Eleineken, by far the largest brewer in
Europe, is also Western Europe's pre-emi
nent beer producer. Eleineken is market
Spain
10.8
Poland
9.4
Germany
8.0
France
7.4
Italy
6.0
Netherlands
6.0
Greece
3.4
Russia
3.3
Slovakia
2.1
Bulgaria
1.3
Ireland
1.1
Austria
1.1
Croatia
0.8
Elungary
0.8
Switzerland
0.8
Romania
0.7
Macedonia
0.5
Czech Republic
0.2
leader in the Netherlands, Spain, Italy and
Greece, is in second place in France,
Ireland and Switzerland and has a modest
position in the German market. In several
other Western European countries, the
Eleineken brand (and in some cases Amstel)
is either brewed under licence or imported.
The West European beer market is one
of the most profitable in the world, but
offers little scope for volume growth, due
to the ageing of the population. Growing
consumer preference for premium and
speciality beers is, however, creating ample
opportunities for Eleineken to further
improve its performance. Eleineken has
strong brands in both segments, which
yield relatively high margins, and has brand
portfolios which cover all segments of the
market, except the unattractive low-priced
segment. Eleineken also adds value in
Western Europe by working constantly to
cut costs.
77
70
123
35
28
81
42
49
93
51
146
112
78
78
59
52
31
160
Lower sales in a gradually contracting
market
Despite a good summer, demographic
factors and a weak economy again caused
the Dutch beer market to contract slightly.
The share of lager beers in the total beer
market held steady at around g2%.
Heineken Brouwerijen's sales decreased
from 6.3 million hectolitres to 6.0 million
hectolitres and its market share declined
a little, but cost savings generated an
improved result.
The result benefited from the price in
creases applied to all brands in February
2003, the better sales mix and lower
staffing levels. The reorganisation also
yielded improvements in the cost
structure. A supermarket price war, which
broke out in the last quarter of the year,
resulted in the prices of all premium
report of the executive board
27