simm
Seville is Cruzcampo and
vice versa. The brewery is part
of their lives
The merger
>191119]
PAGE 27
the Spanish consumer the word 'beer' stands for a cold lager. Our
efforts are aimed at making the beer market and the beer culture
in Spain more diversified. One of the ways in which we want to do
that is by introducing the first Spanish abbey beer."
This abbey beer is based on a recipe that was used in bygone
times in a Spanish monastery. Heineken Espana discovered that
recipe and used it as a basis for the abbey beer that will be put on
the market at the end of this year. "In Spain the specialities still
only represent a very small part of the beer market. Speciality
beers are very niche and very expensive. The abbey beer is
therefore not intended as a volume-builder, but is aimed at
bringing more sophistication into the beer market", explains Jorge
Paradela, who clearly enjoys his work. "It is a very demanding job,
but rewarding. You are a pioneer and you stimulate people in the
brewery. Often you are the only one who believes in a new
development and you try to make a success of it whilst keeping
your investments low."
Strong brands do indeed form an excellent basis but they give no
guarantee of a sunny future for Heineken Espana. "In a business
the people come first. Then come the brands", says Carlos de
Jaureguizar. Piero Perron agrees: "How to turn a merger into a
success? By taking the best people! It's all about having the right
people in the right place at the right time and following the
right strategy."
The man who is in charge of the merger in Spain earned his spurs
at another Heineken Operating Company. In his post as General
Manager of Heineken Italia he succeeded in no time in forging
together the three merged businesses (Heineken Italia, Interbrew
and Moretti) to form one whole. "It was the best part of my career.
A company with losses for many years is now one of the best
Operating Companies in Heineken Group. We have also achieved
market leadership in Italy."
In the person of Mr Perron, therefore, Heineken Espana has a
director who has experience of integration operations. He sees
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