ferries. In Scandinavia in particular the ferries are very popular. Ferry ships in Scandinavian waters account for seventy per cent of the total volume of beer sold. The remaining thirty per cent is mainly sold on the ferries that operate between the UK/Ireland and Continental Europe. The popularity of ferries in the Nordic region is easy to explain: excise duties on alcohol in countries like Finland and Sweden are extremely high. In a bar in Stockholm, for instance, you have to pay as much as ten guilders for a beer. The ferryboats operate between various Scandinavian cities, e.g. between Stockholm and the Finnish capital Helsinki (a fourteen- hour voyage) and sell duty free beer to passengers during the trip. Scandinavians seize the opportunity with both hands. "There, it is even customary to celebrate your birth day on board a ferry." Scandinavian breweries are strongly represented on the Nordic ferries. They supply their beer at very low prices. The ferryboats serve as an extension of their domestic field of operations. For Heineken these fer ries represent a somewhat less attractive market as regards product pricing. But that does not apply to Global Duty Free - nowadays also referred to as the Travel Retail Market - represents an annual turnover of 21 billion US dollars. Globalisation is the keyword behind this trend and this applies in particular to the airlines, cruise companies and the retail trade. In response to these changes and trends Heineken Duty Free has rapidly adapted by switching from a geographical allocation of activities to one in which the responsibility lies with each discipline. The following disciplines have been defined in this new approach: airlines, global retail, cruises, ferries, military and others (including diplomatic 4 supplies and border shops). z the ferries that sail between the UK and the Continent of Europe. On the 3 vessels of Stena Line and North Sea Ferries cellar beer systems were installed one after the other in recent years: these consist of a big cold-storage cell containing 4-5 tanks of 1,000 litres each that are coupled up to some eight to ten dispenser points throughout the ship. It has proved to be a successful operation. "And yet you can see changes occur ring in this area as well. One of the ferry lines has decided to introduce a high-speed ferry, a sort of catamaran, on the Hook of Holland-Harwich route so that it can compete better with the Shuttle train service that operates via the Channel Tunnel. That ferry can zip along at a maximum speed of 85 kilometres an hour and completes the crossing in three and a half hours instead of the usual nine. It sails twice a day back and forth between Holland and England. For Heineken that means much less on-board consumption." CRUISES For the past few years the brightest future for Heineken Duty Free has been offered by the cruise market. Anyone who still mainly associates cruises with seriously rich, slightly older married couples making a round-the-world trip has got an outdated picture of this form of tourism. The cruise companies have worked hard to dust off that stuffy image. They have put bigger vessels into service which place greater emphasis on fun, entertainment and luxury. The cruise ships, also known as floating resorts, are seen more and more as direct competitors of hotels. The growth in cruise holidays is enormous. "An annual increase of some ten per cent. At the moment 6.5 to 7 million people go on a cruise each year and their numbers are still growing substantially. Over the next five years around 40 to 50 new ships will be brought into service. Cruises are seen more and more as offering value for money." Especially for Americans the Caribbean is an attractive cruise destination. For Europeans such holidays are less attractive because of the long flight to get to the region. That is the reason why more and more com panies are deploying their cruise ships in Europe during the summer months. Eight-day Mediterranean cruises, sailing from Barcelona, are growing in popularity. As the summer in Europe draws to an end in September, the vessels cross back over the Atlantic and return to the Caribbean. ÜI

Jaarverslagen en Personeelsbladen Heineken

World of Heineken | 1998 | | pagina 4