RODRIGUEZ DIAZ
and his stacks of paperwork
Juan F. Rodriguez Diaz (right)
and Jesus Hernandez Perez, of
the customs office that works
for Rolom on Tenerife.
Between the shipping of Heineken beer in the Rotterdam docks and
the moment when the containers arrive at Rolom the customs clear
ance formalities and the attendant mass of paperwork have to be dealt
with. For this Rolom uses the service of the Rodriguez Diaz Customs
Office, one of the sixty customs clearing agents on Tenerife.
Two days before the containers with Heineken beer are loaded onto
vessels of the Olson Line or OPDR. Rodriguez Diaz knows exactly
what is being shipped, which vessel will be used, the date on which the
ship sets sail and the date when it will arrive in the port of Santa Cruz,
the capital of Tenerife.
The required documents (a thick wad of papers) are sent by courier
to Diaz so that the cargo can be cleared through customs. The docu
ments contain the information that is prescribed by the local govern
ment. such as the product's keepabilitv date and a declaration that the
labelling complies with the legal requirements. Random samples are
taken by two customs inspectors to check that the contents of the con
tainers correspond with the details stated on the documents.
Diaz also ensures that the import duties are paid to the government.
Subsequently, Rolom is sent an invoice for that amount. This arrange
ment takes a lot of complicated administrative work out of Rolom's
hands.
For one shipment Rodriguez Diaz needs one set of documents,
regardless of how many containers are involved. The rules are differ
ent if advertising material has also been included in the shipment.
Imported goods intended for resale simply happen to differ from goods
which are supplied free of charge.
number of wholesalers might perhaps
solve this problem in future. 'We will
then be able to make price deals more
quickly and make them stick to them',
explains Gabriël. Price will then no
longer form a selling argument for the
wholesalers; maintaining customer
loyalty will then hinge on the service
they can provide (fast delivery, good
terms of payment).
Upgrading
The lion's share of the Heineken
beer sold on Tenerife is in 33 cl cans.
Bottles of Heineken were not avail
able until just over a year ago. As part
of the further upgrading of Heineken
it was decided to introduce the one-
third litre bottles. Bar proprietors
were initially not so enthusiastic
about the bottles, claiming they are
often not so handy on licensed
premises. 'They were used to the can,
which was easily stackable, and bot
tles brought greater risks of break
ages. But Rolom doesn't want to intro
duce Heineken bottles into all the on-
license premises. In small bars, where
there is a constant coming and going
of customers, bottles are not very
handy. In such cases it's easier to
open a can and put it on the counter so
that customers can take their drink
outside with them', says Gabriël.
Bottled Heineken beer has mean
while become quite widely accepted
on Tenerife. It seems that the Doubt
ing Thomases amongst the bar
owners have changed their tune.
'Once they'd tried bottled Heineken,
they ordered bottles again the next
time, as customers were asking for
them', says Gabriël. Also by organis
ing 'happy hour' promotions at quiet
times during the day, Rolom is trying
to stimulate sales of bottled Heineken
in bars not fitted with a keg installa
tion.
Cautious 23
As regards prospects for draught
Heineken Gabriël is cautious. 'The
image of the licensed establishment
has to fit in with the Heineken aura of
quality. In the cheap bars we don't
want to have Heineken sold on
draught. That's because a cana (glass,
ed.) of beer cannot communicate the
brand image as strongly as a bottle.'
Gabriël thinks that the anonymous
nature of the glass is a great draw
back, certainly when combined with
the fact that visitors in such bars are
seldom willing to pay the significantly
higher price for Heineken when they
could drink a cheap glass of local beer
from that same cana. 'The result is
that the Heineken keg is connected up
for too long, which means that at a
given moment the beer deteriorates in
quality.'
Future
The future of Heineken, Aguila and
Buckler on Tenerife is, feels Roel de
Haan, also dependent on economic
developments in the years ahead. But
he radiates confidence: 'Here on Ten
erife there are still plenty of oppor
tunities for Heineken as regards, say,
advertising. I have every faith in the
Heineken brand. It's strong enough to
withstand the economic squeeze.'
