HEINEKENS GROWTH IN CROATIA G
DEPENDENT ON ECONOMY
Croatia is at the dawn of a
new era. This country, part
of the former Yugoslavia,
has been recognised by the
European Union since 1992
and its territory has been
affected only to a relatively
limited extent by the war.
Perhaps that is why Croatia
was soon able to set out
along the road towards
economic recovery.
Business confidence in Croatia has
grown strongly in recent years. More
and more countries are doing busi
ness with Croatia, and countries like
Germany and Italy are making sub
stantial investments there. The
government has succeeded in curb
ing the rate of inflation. In 1993
inflation was still running at 1500%
per annum. By 1995 this had been
reduced to 4%. Despite this, the
country is still economically vulner
able.
In recent years sales of Heineken
Beer in Croatia have doubled each
year. Area Export Manager Jacqueline
Speek hastens to put these seeming
ly spectacular growth rates in the
right perspective: "We have to stay
realistic. After all, a doubling of a
small volume is still a modest volu
me."
PURCHASING POWER
But, for Ms Speek, the period of very
modest volumes in Croatia is now in
the past. Several tens of thousands of
hectolitres a year are now shipped to
Croatia where three firms handle the
beer's distribution to the market.
And that market for Heineken mainly
consists of the on premise outlets.
Building a position in the off premise
is not all that simple for Heineken at
the moment. A bottle of Heineken
Beer is three times more expensive
than a locally brewed beer and the
purchasing power of the average
Croat is not high enough to allow
him to buy Heineken Beer for daily
consumption at home.
The Croat perceives Heineken as
a high-quality beer, with an interna
tional image. It is mainly the Croats
in the north of the country who
drink beer. Just as in other countries
in former Yugoslavia, there is a clear-
cut difference in per capita consump
tion between north and south. "In
the north there is a real beer culture
and consumption is a lot higher. The
south is more Mediterranean in char
acter. So the consumers there show a
greater interest in wines. Not
surprisingly, therefore, most of the
breweries are to be found in Slovenia
