HOUSTON
Heineken USA has been showing healthy growth for many years
in a row. This consistent growth is attributable to a change in
strategic direction that was initiated several years ago and is
being further structured to this day. The essence of the
strategy: Heineken USA is now looking at things from the mindset
of the consumer and the customer. "It's all about getting closer
to the market."
The United States currently has nearly half a million outlets in
which beer is allowed to be sold. In view of the size of the nation
(some 3,300 counties in 50 states) it would seem that the strategy
of 'getting closer to the market' is bound to fail. Basically, it is not
really possible to get full information about, say, the sales perfor
mance of each independent, street-corner convenience store.
But Heineken USA still took up the challenge. Under the leadership
of CEO Frans van der Minne a large-scale operation called Star
Design was initiated.
For much of his lengthy career with Heineken Frans van der Minne
was involved with the Heineken export operation. He himself set
up regional offices in Singapore and Australia and when he was
Director of the Heineken Export Group the number of regional
offices also showed strong growth. As his career progressed,
Frans van der Minne always stuck firmly to his conviction that the
essence of success is to operate close to the market. That is the
only way to get to know what the consumer's preferences are, to
identify new trends in good time and to make an accurate analysis
of the beer market and the role played by your competitors. In brief,
getting closer to the market is the launch-pad for maximising the
growth opportunities.
A key element in the new market approach is decentralisation.
Last year, therefore, Heineken USA launched the Star Design
project. One after another, the four regional sales offices in
Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston and New York are being converted
into fully fledged business units, and each of them has been given
a high degree of autonomy. Van der Minne: "We have swapped a
generalistic, customer-driven approach for performance-driven
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