A delivery of
Primus. Whilst
the driver writes
out the invoice
and collects the
money, his two
helpers unload
the full crates
and take away
the empties.
time-consuming job, however, is
counting the money he receives from
the bar owners. A small crate of
Primus (twelve bottles of 72 cl each)
cost 326,500 Nouvelles Zaïres at the
end of June this year. Inflation in
Zaïre is so enormous that several
further price increases will no doubt
have taken place by the time this
magazine is published. Since the
Zaïrese currency only has small
denomination notes, one single crate
of Primus is paid for with a wad of
banknotes almost ten centimetres
thick. The bar owner who orders ten
crates of Primus pays the driver with
a whole plastic bag filled with
money.
The galloping inflation means
that at the end of each day, when the
trucks return with the money and
after goods have been paid for in
tively estimated at five million,
though others believe that eight mil
lion would be more realistic, will
soon notice that the city is bustling
with activity. Countless bars, from
big establishments to ones as small
as a living room, are filled each night
with people partying, having fun and
dancing to the stirring beat of
Zaïrese music. After touring a num
ber of bars, there is only one conclu
sion: the Primus beer brand is, in a
manner of speaking, the property of
the people.
Primus is the number one beer
brand in Zaïre. It is a light, easily
drinkable pilsener with 5% alcohol
and that makes Primus extremely
suitable for the tropics. The climate
in Zaïre is tropical, with tempera
tures fluctuating around thirty deg
rees Celsius. Even in the dry season
(from April to July) the air humidity is
high.
Primus has a high-profile pres
ence in the bars in Kinshasa. In 25%
of the outlets in Kinshasa Bralima
has secured exclusivity for its prod
ucts. Half of all the beer that is brew
ed in Kinshasa is supplied in the
company's own trucks. More than
eighty trucks set out each morning,
following a fixed route calling at
little bars and small distributors.
About half of the trucks are used to
distribute Coca Cola, Fanta and
Sprite, the soft drinks which have
been included in Bralima's product
range since 1990 following the acqui
sition of soft drinks producer CIB.
The beer trucks are fully loaded
with Primus, Miitzig and Amstel and
the driver and his two mates then
travel to the various addresses.
Whilst the driver's two helpers load
the return packs on to the lorry and
make the new delivery, the driver
writes out the invoice. His most
Distribution
trucks wait to
be loaded.
A new routing-
system on the
brewery site
will speed up
the daily traffic
flow.
