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16 started to grow. Particularly the
decision by the IOC to hold the
Olympic Games in the magical year of
2000 in Sydney was greeted with a
feeling of national euphoria.
Local si u IT
National pride is also reflected in
the Australian beer drinker's reserved
attitude towards imported beers.
When the author ordered a Heineken
beer during his visit, he was told by a
fellow-drinker that he ought to try
some of "that local stuff'. Though
slightly disparaging, the words were
spoken with some pride: 'We can
brew beer as well, mate!'
The average Australian loves his
beer and especially Aussie-brewed
beer. Beer represents eighty-five per
cent of all alcoholic beverage sales.
This doesn't make it easy for
imported beers: why, in fact, should
an Australian pay a lot of money for a
beer from Europe if Australian beer is
at least just as good? Imported beers
therefore account for a mere two per
cent of the Australian beer market.
And yet some dualism exists in the
Australian's way of thinking. In fact, a
European brewer who decides for
cost reasons to brew his imported
brand locally will be 'penalised' by
the consumer. A European beer is
perceived as high quality and so it
cannot be brewed in Australia or
thereabouts. The result of this dua
lism is that imported beers are
growing slowly in a market in which
per capita consumption is declining.
In 1987 beer consumption still
amounted to 110 litres per head; five
years later that had fallen to 95 litres.
Recession
The main cause of that decline
was the economic recession. For
several years now Australia has been
deep in recession. Particularly the
states of Victoria (capital: Melbourne)
and New South Wales (capital:
Sydney) were badly hit.
Unemployment climbed to 11%
and interest rates sky-rocketed. The
result was a fall in disposable income,
which also had a severe impact on the
beer industry. Beer consumption
showed an overall decline and con
sumer preference started to shift
towards cheaper beers.
The local breweries responded to
that demand for cheaper beer, firstly,
by introducing 'B' brands and,
secondly, by offering hefty price dis
counts on their existing brands in
attempts to maintain volume and
market share. Graham Shonhan of
Inchcape Liquor Marketing in
Queensland (capital: Brisbane) has
this to say about the expansion of the
range: "Seven years ago there were
about twenty different beer brands
and pack formats on the market. At
the present time one brewery already
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has as many as 68 different brands
and pack formats."
Inchcape has always upheld the
premium image of Heineken and was
not willing to join in the major price-
cutting war. Whilst the 1993 results
were indeed lower than expected -
also because the economic upturn
took longer to emerge than initially
thought - volume grew for the first
time in five years. And the optimism
of the Australian population about
economic recovery has given
Inchcape good hopes for sales in
1994.
A vigorous government anti drink-
drive campaign also brought changes
in the beer market. The problem of
beer drinkers who got behind the
driving wheel had been a thorn in the
flesh of the Australian government for
years. Hard counter-measures were
introduced. Fines for drinking and
driving were raised considerably.
Drivers who fail the breathalyser test,
i.e. have a blood alcohol percentage
of more than 0.05, can reckon on a
hefty fine and the loss of their driving
licence for six months. That is fol
lowed by a three-year period in which
the car driver is not allowed to drink
a single drop of alcohol. If any subse
quent breath test reveals even the
slightest trace of alcohol in the blood
the penalty is severe. During those
three years 'on probation' a sticker
has to be displayed on the rear win
dow to make it clear to other road
users that the driver has 'sinned'.
This government measure has not
only caused a decline in consumption
but has also led to a dramatic switch
to fight beers. At the moment light
beers represent some twenty per cent
of the total beer market, solely
because of the measures taken to
curb driving under the influence.
Optimistic
Since the second half of 1993
there have been clear signs that
Australia's economy is beginning to
claw its way upwards again; un
employment is falling, as are interest
rates. This development has given
Mel Sherwin, Inchcape's national
marketing manager, optimistic feel
ings about the future. "Basically we'd
anticipated that the economy would
pick up earlier in 1993. Recovery has
taken a little longer to arrive."
Mel Sherwin is none the less
happy about the revival. The
recession meant that visits by consu
mers to on premise outlets had decli
ned in favour of off premise sales. Mr
Sherwin is convinced that for a prod
uct like Heineken image building and
brand awareness can only be
achieved in the on premise outlets.
And for Inchcape, stimulating brand
awareness plus rejuvenating the
Heineken image is target number
one. "Heineken had an old-fashioned
THE WORLD OF HEINEKEN
