ruw/r/**-/
haiand in Guangzhou.
All imported beers, including
Heineken, are for the most part avail
able only in cans. For the time being
the introduction of Heineken in the
familiar green bottle is still not being
considered, as the market is not yet
ripe enough.
A foreign visitor to China is likely
to experience some difficulty when
ordering a can of Heineken. The
Heineken name is in fact not yet real
ly known in China. In China it is
important for brand names to have a
positive meaning. Heineken decided
on the name Hé-Lik, which is equiva
lent to 'joy, strength'. Incidentally, the
name Hé-Lik was already in use long
ago in Hong Kong. By now the
Chinese name has disappeared there
and everyone refers to the product as
Heineken. Eric Nelissen expects that,
in line with the Hong Kong example,
the name Hé-Lik will not last all that
long in China and the Chinese will
quickly adopt the international name.
Limited
The premium image of Heineken
Beer has meant that, certainly in
China, Heineken is very selective
when deciding on which outlets are
allowed to sell Heineken Beer. In
cities like Shanghai, Guangzhou and
Shenzhen Heineken Beer is mean
while available in 70 to 80% of all A
class outlets. Growth is being achiev
ed not only through higher sales in
existing outlets but also through a
steady expansion in the total number
of entertainment outlets.
Heineken is concentrating very
clearly on the on premise outlets in
China. But the off premise trade, par
ticularly the supermarkets, is not
being forgotten. In Guangzhou and
Shanghai merchandisers are actively
engaged in optimising the presenta
tion of Heineken Beer on the shelves
and in distributing POS material.
Sales of Heineken Beer in the off
premise, however, are definitely out-
shadowed by those in the on premise.
Very popular and important for
Heineken are the karaoke bars - also
copied from Hong Kong and Taiwan.
In Shanghai alone there were some
3,000 karaoke bars at the end of last
year, about five hundred of which are
of interest to Heineken. The principle
of the karaoke bar originates in
Japan. On a television screen a video
clip is shown of a song that someone
has chosen. But the musical sound
track is not complete; there is no
singing voice. The lyrics of the song
are flashed onto the screen and the
visitor can use the hand microphone
to demonstrate his skill as a songster.
For those who want to show off their
Q - exportoffice
[j] - brewery
wa/4 few#-
HA//yas/
23
THE WORLD OF HEINEKEN
