Jarek Sliwka is the owner of Five Stars,
the Heineken distributor for Gdansk and
Gdynia in the far north of Poland. Sliwka
has achieved his boyhood dream: he's ope
ned his own Heineken bar in the main street
of Gdynia.
Reticent
Marc Elenbaas is reticent when
he's faced with the owner of an estab
lishment asking for Heineken beer on
draught.
"It's very much an 'in' thing to
have draught beer in your outlet at
the moment. So we receive many
requests. If we have a strong suspi
cion that the outlet won't sell enough
Heineken beer to justify installing and
maintaining such a dispenser, then
we turn down the request. Our
maxim is: the outlet must first be able
to prove that it sells sufficient
Heineken beer before we'll even
consider putting in a keg beer dis
penser. Provisionally, therefore,
Heineken on draught will continue to
be fairly exclusive."
One outlet that's proved to have
sufficient turnover for Heineken
draught beer is Trax. The bar's loca
tion is unique. A former guardhouse
of the old royal palace has been
converted into a cosy little bar. The
palace acts as a magnet for tourists
and so Trax derives a large propor
tion of its turnover from the passing
trade.
In the summer months the
Heineken parasols guarantee a high
degree of visibility. Just as in
Hungary, the firms in Poland which
sell alcoholic beverages are faced
with a government ban on alcohol
advertising. In Poland, too, great em
phasis is therefore placed on the use
of sales promotion material such as
parasols, signs, Heineken glasses,
beer mats, etc.
Gdynia
In the north of Poland, on the
coast, lies the town of Gdynia. This is
the home base of Five Stars, distri
butor for Gdynia and for the nearby
city of Gdansk. Its director is Jarek
Sliwka. In November 1991 he obtain
ed his licence to import and sell beer.
He chose Heineken because of the
product's well-known brand name
and started distributing Heineken
beer in both Gdynia and Gdansk as
well as in Warsaw. Following the
establishment of DDC, he transferred
his customers in the Polish capital to
Elenbaas.
Some months prior to setting up
Five Stars, Jarek achieved one of his
boyhood dreams. In July 1991 he
opened up his own bar. In Gdynia's
busiest street you can now find the
Heineken Bar, a trendy establishment
which features live jazz music twice a
week. Jarek is satisfied about the
development of sales and about the
type of public his bar attracts. "The
Heineken Bar is now very fashion
able. People often say 'Fet's meet at
Heineken'."
As far as his function as distributor
is concerned, Jarek is convinced that
you must provide service if you want
to be successful. "If a customer comes
to our depot to order some beer, we
always ask for the delivery address
and we make sure that the beer is
supplied that very same day. It often
happens that a truck driver is still out
on the road late at night helping out
an outlet that has suddenly found
itself without Heineken beer." Five
trucks carrying the Heineken logo
travel the streets of Gdynia and
Gdansk.
The best beer
Jarek won't venture to make a
prediction about the future of
Heineken in Poland. "It's difficult to
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