Reportof the Executive Board I Chief Executive's Statement continued
Business priorities
oOo Grow the
Heineken® brand
Consumer-inspired,
customer-oriented
and brand-led
Capture the
opportunities in
emerging markets
tfR Leverage the benefits of
HEINEKEN's global scale
IMIi Drive personal
leadership
Strengthening our position
in emerging markets
The strategic investments that we have made
and the returns we are generating highlight the
resilience of our emerging markets in the face
of the current global economic challenges.
Our African operations have continued
to expand. This year we made further
investments in future growth through the
acguisition of five breweries in Nigeria, alleviating
capacity constraints and helping us to meet
the growing consumer demand for our brands
in this important African country. We also
entered the Ethiopian market with the purchase
of two breweries. Ethiopia is an attractive and
emerging beer market that offers strong
growth potential. Our Latin American
businesses are performing well and are
benefiting from the acceleration of our
plans to grow the Eleineken® brand. Our
partnerships continue to perform strongly.
In China, our joint venture. Asia Pacific
Breweries (APB), opened a new brewery.
Located in Guangzhou, it is dedicated to
brewing Heineken®. Tiger and Anchor.
In India, we began brewing Heineken® in
partnership with United Breweries (UBL)
for the first time. Both are core to our plans
to target the rapidly growing premium
segment in each country. In addition, our
joint ventures in Chile and South Africa
are delivering solid growth.
Winning in Europe
At the same time, we have continued to adapt
our business to the changing consumer dynamics
in our traditional heartland. The challenges of
Europe's economic situation have been well
documented, but by investing in our leadership
position we are ensuring that we are best placed
to capture current and future opportunities.
We continue to focus on optimising efficiencies
as well as driving innovation. During the year,
we supported the further roll-out of two of our
global brands, Desperados and Strongbow
Gold. In the UK, we acguired the Galaxy
Pub Estate, consisting of 918 high guality
pubs. We also entered into multi-country
agreements with large retailers whose regional
footprint matches our own.
Investing in our future
We win if we surprise and excite our consumers.
We win if we create a sustainable business.
And we win if we invest in the capabilities
of our people. All three have been a priority
in 2011.
To become part of our consumers'
conversations, we have invested in the creation
of the award winning Heineken® 'Open Your
World' advertising campaign, as well as
supporting a number of the world's most
exciting sports competitions, music and film
events. We are most prominent and leading
in the online space where our consumers spend
an increasing amount of their time. Global
deals in 2011 with Google and Facebook will
ensure that we can build on the impetus that
has been created.
Brewing a Better Future was launched in 2010.
In 2011it has been embedded in how we
think about and conduct our business. Operating
Companies are publishing sustainability reports,
and delivering their own three-year sustainability
plans. We have created genuine momentum
behind our aim to create value across society
as a whole.
Building our capabilities is essential to winning.
Across the Company we are eguipping our
people with the skills needed for the changing
competitive environment. From Supply
Chain to Finance and from HR to Marketing,
initiatives are under way to strengthen our
core skills and deepen the pipeline of talented,
experienced leaders who are able to operate
in markets all over the world.
Heineken N.V. Annual Report 2011