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

Jaarverslagen en Personeelsbladen Heineken

Jaarverslagen | 2011 | | pagina 10