underlying principle is: working close 7
to the market.
The export office in Singapore,
which coordinates all export activities
in the region, has also been strength
ened. Regional Export Director Jack
van Herpen, formerly based in
Amsterdam, now heads the ope
rations from the Singapore office.
Poland
Eastern Europe is a region which
continues to receive a lot of attention.
Despite economic headwinds in those
countries, Heineken Export can see
many prospects in the region. Proof of
this was the acquisition of the
importer DCC in Poland. Marc
Elenbaas, who previously managed
DCC, will continue to run the Polish
import operation.
Early this year Heineken announ
ced the purchase of a 24.9% stake in
the Polish brewery Zywiec. According
to Frans van der Minne, the combi
nation of local (brewing) activities
and imports of Heineken Beer is uni
que in the brewing world and is
certain to bring benefits for Heineken.
The same principle is applied in Asia
and also in a country like Hungary.
For Poland the approach adopted is
the same as in Hungary: alongside the
production of local beers, imported
Heineken Beer will provisionally
remain available.
GATT
After seven years of tough talking
the GATT negotiations have been suc
cessfully finalised: agreement was
reached in December last year. The
agreement, greeted enthusiastically
by many, is put into perspective by
Frans van der Minne: "For Heineken
it means that we can now seize our
opportunities in some countries, for
example in South America, which
imposed heavy import restrictions.
But, of course, we are not the only
ones eager to exploit the opportu
nities. In some countries, therefore,
we will be faced with more com
petition, but in others we will be able
to compete on better terms." He views
the NAFTA (North American Free
Trade Agreement) as 'more problem
atical'. It will in fact place Heineken
THE WORLD OF HEINEKEN
