Different
JUNE 2 O O 2
The subdivision into types of markets does not mean that all these
markets can be placed in the same category. "Each market is
different," says Guido Janssen. "There is no such thing as a single
market in Africa. Big differences exist between the east and the
west of the continent, and there are also differences between the
English-speaking and French-speaking parts as well as between
northern and southern Africa."
Every market requires its own approach, but there is one aspect
that the three men all agree on: you must really make sure that
you have the basics for building your market in place. You must first
achieve availability and visibility for Heineken and then you have
to strengthen the professionalism of your import organisation.
The Export Managers are delivering that by organising workshops
and training sessions. And in cases where the required know-how
and experience cannot be introduced quickly enough, Heineken will
literally lend a helping hand. Jacco van der Linden: "In some
cases a distributor is quite frequently faced with an out of stock
situation. In a lot of cases such a distributor does not have the
know-how he needs to solve such a situation. Heineken then takes
over that task. On the basis of the information that the distributor
hands in each week, Heineken's Direct Replenishment Planning
programme guarantees that the distributor always receives a new
stock of beer in time."
Looking at the future, the three Export Managers take a positive
view, though they are well aware that in African countries a role will
always be played by uncertain factors such as import duties and
political (and therefore economic) instability. "You can't earn money
without taking risks," says Guido Janssen. But developments over
the past ten years give him and his colleagues good hope for the
future.
"There is stability in a large part of the continent," says Jacco van
der Linden. "I am convinced that many African countries have
enormous long-term growth potential."
