r J v. 7.1 33 France Marketing innovations drive Heineken brand growth Heineken N.V. Annual Report 2004 Report of the Executive Board Regional Review Western Europe Amstel plays an important role in the mainstream beer segment and was supported nationally through exploitation of the UEFA Champion's League sponsorship and through promotional initiatives at a local level. Sales of Amstel in PET bottles, launched in 2003, continue to progress well. The large alcohol-free segment in Spain again showed robust growth, reflecting the continuing trend towards healthier lifestyles, as well as increased restrictions on alcohol consumption. In particu lar, our Buckler brand profited from this. As elsewhere, Fleineken Espana participates actively in campaigns to encourage drivers to drink alcohol-free beer. Production development The construction of the new Heineken Espana brewery in Seville is well under way, with bottling scheduled to start at the end of 2006 and production reaching full capacity in 2008. The brewery, with an initial capacity of 4.5 million hectolitres, will offer greater efficiency and productivity as well as lower production costs. The brewery will brew all Heineken Espana brands, but will focus on production of Cruzcampo. With a total investment of €233 million, the project represents the largest private industrial investment in the city of Seville. The project will be partly financed through the sale of the city centre plot of around 17 hectares on which the existing brewery stands. Other significant developments were the opening of a new PET bottling line in Jaèn in order to meet anticipated demand and a bronze award to our Arano brewery in Navarro from the European Foundation for Quality Management. Total beer sales million hectolitres Market share percent Market position position The French beer market lost about 5% in volume in 2004, amid more intense price competition and promotional activity in the mainstream segment. Fleineken France, though, continued to focus on its leading premium brands. As a result we were able to contain our loss in overall market share to one percentage point. Overall beer volumes for Heineken France declined from 7.4 million to 7.1 million hectolitres. The operating profit was severely impacted by the combined effect of restructuring costs on the wholesale activity and changes in business tax. Brands Through strong marketing initiatives the Heineken brand stabilised its sales volumes and was able to gain market share in both the on- and off-trade channels. The brand was supported by the launch of the award winning Tee Pack' packaging in the off-trade during the summer and through the success of draft-beer David system within the on-trade channel. The Amstel brand is the leading draught beer brand in the on-trade and Amstel Free has been introduced as part of the on-trade portfolio. In the off-trade, our innovative Desperados mini-kegs were launched and the Pelforth brand confirmed its potential through the success of the product line extension Pelforth Ambré. Strong promotional pressure in the mainstream

Jaarverslagen en Personeelsbladen Heineken

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