Cruzcampo
But profitability can only be maintained in the beer market over
the long term if you hold a strong and leading position. For Carlos
de Jaureguizar it was clear that El Aguila could not capture that
position on its own. He recalls a talk he had with the Heineken
Executive Board just before taking up his post as general manager
of El Aguila. "I said at the time: I will make sure that El Aguila
shows a profit again within four years, but I don't think it will be
possible to become market leader."
When it became clear at the end of the 1990s that Diageo wanted
to divest its interest in Cruzcampo, Heineken realised that the
combination of Cruzcampo and El Aguila offered the fastest way
of achieving its strategy (broad leadership positions) in Spain.
A couple of hundred metres from the Cruzcampo brewery in
Seville, alongside a road filled with the bustle of daily traffic,
stands the chapel that the brewery takes its name from: La Cruz
del Campo, the Cross in the Field. For many centuries this place of
worship was located far outside the city of Seville and served as
a landmark for strangers who were on their way to visit the city.
La Cruz del Campo is not only found in the name of the brewery
and in the name of its most important beer, but on the label as
well. The label also depicts Gambrinus, the Belgian king of beer
and patron saint of brewers. He leans nonchalantly against a
wooden barrel as he toasts the health of the Cruzcampo drinker.
La Cruz del Campo, just like the brewery, is meanwhile located in
the middle of the vastly expanded city. Communications Director
of Heineken Espaha, Julio Cuesta, says that the people who live
around the brewery do not have any problems with the activities
on and around the brewery site or the smell of the boiling wort.
"For the people here it is clear: Seville is Cruzcampo and vice
versa. The brewery is part of their lives. We would only face
problems if we were to announce that we would be moving out of
the city. We would then take away their monument and pride."
Cruzcampo stands not only literally but also figuratively in the
midst of the community in Seville. To reflect that social
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