velling during that time. At first, of
course, it's fantastic. Flying was then
still fairly exclusive. In the initial
years I learnt a lot about other cul
tures and how you should approach
them. But if you've just landed at Las
Palmas airport on the Canary Islands
for the 35th time, you know what to
expect. At a certain point in time you
feel you've seen it all."
Kees Brandt: "Export manager is still one of
the most dynamic functions within Heineken."
remains as it is, we have very little
chance with Heineken. The pride
that the Belgians take in their own
beers stands in the way of our suc
cess."
The German beer market seems
fairly similar to the Belgian one. In
Germany, too, people are proud of
their own beers and for a very long
time Heineken did not even toy with
the idea of exporting to Germany.
"I've been busy with the German
market ever since the early 1980s.
Studying again and again whether
the time was ripe. And then waiting
and waiting. In the early 1990s we
noticed that a market shift was
occurring. Especially the well educa
ted young people in Germany like to
travel and are willing to try some
thing different. Heineken Beer is on
sale in Germany in the trendy outlets
where those young adults like to get
together. It's a market that calls for
great perseverance. But, to quote the
words of Mr Vuursteen: 'we'll get
them in the end, those Germans'."
DYNAMISM
Looking back on seventeen years of
Export, Kees Brandt can draw only
one conclusion: "Never a dull
moment." "There's always some
thing going on in Export. There's
dynamism and enthusiasm. I've
worked for seventeen years in a team
which booked better results year
after year. Seventeen years of work
ing with a club of people whose sole
aim is to be winners. I did a lot of tra-
But sitting back and twiddling
his thumbs is not the life for Kees.
And so he's already busy making his
biggest dream come true: becoming
the owner of a jazz café. No doubt,
the drink with a taste of class will be
served in that café.
