turning for
in Portugal
Tide now
Heineken
Amstel introduction completes beer range
Eighteen months ago Hans Erik Tuyt moved to
Portugal as Area Export Manager. What he found
there was a complicated market with hardly any
room for import beers. Hut the tide has turned; the
figures show a positive trend.
Portugal basically consists of
three different markets. The
beer market in the south is
dominated by the Algarve; a popular
destination in both winter and sum
mer for holidaymakers from Northern
Europe who are attracted by the mild
winter climate and the warm sum
mers. Beer sales in this region are
high, thanks in part to the tourist
trade.
Just as in many other warm
regions, Heineken in the Algarve does
not automatically direct its efforts at
the tourists. As Heineken sees it, extra
sales to tourists are a welcome bonus
but not the main objective. The
300,000 local consumers are the
prime target for Hans Erik Tuyt.
Lisbon and its surrounding area is
home to twenty per cent of the total
population, but this same region
accounts for forty per cent of
Portugal's total beer sales. "In 1998
the Expo will be coming to Lisbon.
The banks of the River Tagus, which
flows through Lisbon, will be totally
transformed into a long ribbon of
shops and catering establishments
specially built for that Expo '98. Those
are the outlets that we will be foc
using strongly on, by encouraging bar
owners to build a terrace. In Portugal
there are as yet only few outdoor ter
races. That's because the weather
conditions are not really suitable.
There is always quite a lot of wind
and temperatures in summer are very
high. But Heineken terrace wind
breaks and Heineken parasols will
make it possible to build terraces and
those in turn give us extra brand visi
bility."
Special position
The third region is Northern
Portugal, or the area around Oporto.
Mr Tuyt describes it as 'a difficult
market'. "This is the region of port
and vinho verde wines. It has no real
beer culture, so it's not easy for a pre
mium brand like Heineken."
In fact, there are also two further
markets which form part of Portugal:
the Azores and Madeira. Heineken
enjoys a special position on these
islands. Despite the small size of the
market, Heineken has a very high
share on the Azores. "Thanks to the
American military personnel and our
agent Emater we have 90% distribu
tion on Terceira." Hans Erik Tuyt is
also satisfied about the positive chan
ge on the island of Madeira. "Our dis
tributor has achieved good positio
ning for Heineken and Buckler and,
since the introduction of Amstel in
September, we can offer a full range
there as well."
Modest
The local beer market (six million
hectolitres per year) is dominated by
two breweries which together hold a
98% market share. By comparison,
therefore, the import segment is very
modest. One of the reasons why
Heineken has nevertheless succeeded
in gaining a solid foothold is the 'beer
team' which was set up in coopera
tion with importer Refrigor.
Distribution in Portugal is handled by
'advance salesmen'. In total they
make up to eighty visits a day and
note down orders for delivery the
following day. The Sumolis soft drinks
factory, which handles distribution of
Heineken products, has ten represen
tatives on its payroll.
These representatives concentrate
solely on the Heineken range:
Heineken Beer, Buckler, Murphy's
Irish Stout and - since September this
year - Amstel. Each representative
has his own region, calls on outlets
which show potential as successful
sellers of Heineken and sometimes
accompanies Sumolis salesmen
during their visits to customers.
Heineken Beer (just like Amstel)
is available in bottles, in cans and on
draught. Fernando Carreiras, product
manager Heineken, clearly emphasi
ses how important the bottle is for
sales and promotional activities, as
this pack form helps boost the premi
um image of Heineken. Because of its
relative novelty in Portugal, the can
currently has a better image than the
bottle. Even in the more up-market
The Heineken sales team. Standing third from left, Hans Eric Tuyt.
THE WORLD OF HEINEKEN
