NEW DAWN IN BURUNDI HEINEKEN WINS DUTCH REPUTATION AWARD SEEING RETAIL THROUGH CONSUMER EYES fe I After more than 10 years of civil war and the devastating effect on the economy, peace in Burundi is finally within reach. The Brarudi brewery, in which Heineken has a majority 60% stake, has been growing in both volume and profitability. Upto the late 1990's, the Brarudi brewery was Burundi's only fully functioning industrial plant. Brarudi's beer has a good reputation in the region, and the brewery is the country's largest and most reliable taxpayer. Without Brarudi's contribution, it is said that the government could not afford civil service salaries each month. This year, a major investment plan, which began in 2002 and totals 40 million Euros, will be fully realised. When completed, there will be a new bottling line, water treatment unit, C02 plant, cooling unit, wort cooler, electrical distribution, extended warehouses and wastewater treatment plant. The estimated production for this year is 1,180,000 hectolitres, both soft drinks and beer. The refurbishment of the brewery will be finished to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the brewery later this year, with the inauguration provisionally planned for October 2005. êWrlèS On Tuesday May 31, Heineken received the Dutch Reputation Award for the third year running during the annual Reputation dinner at the Amstel Hotel in Amsterdam. Heineken scored the highest in the Reputation Quotient survey, based on a study by the Reputation Institute of the University of Rotterdam and Harris Interactive in the USA. The study is carried out in twenty-three countries annually, and this year 9,900 Dutch consumers evaluated the reputations of the twenty most visible companies. For the third time in a row, Heineken topped these ratings. Thony Ruys (left) receives the award from Cees van Rlel (right) Heineken rated first on two of the six key elements that determine a strong reputation in the eye of the consumer: vision, leadership and workplace environment. On the other four elements (emotional appeal, products and services, financial performance and social responsibility) Heineken scored second. In the top tier of winning companies Ikea, Philips and Unilever placed 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively. The award ceremony was hosted by professor Cees van Riel from the Corporate Communications Centre at Erasmus University in Rotterdam and was attended by 70 representatives of the nominated companies and the media. Heineken's Duty Free and Travel Retail department (DFTR) has taken a new initiative to bolster a customer driven service mentality throughout its varied op^ations. The 'Experience a Day #irough the Eyes of the Consumer' program allows members from DFTR's various segment teams (airlines, airport shops, border and trading zones, cruises, ferries, military and shipping) to act as consumers, in order to see the operations from a customer's point of view, not a management one. Team members will have the opportunity to work for a day in one of the outlets within their specific channel, for example, as a flight attendant or selling cases of beer in a retail shop on a ferry. In addition to this, team members will also spend a day acting as a consumer, a passenger or a traveller, in order to experience retail sales from a different perspective. "This program provides us with unique knowledge," says Meivin Broekaart, Trade Sales Manager, DFTR. "Valuable consumer insights at the most premium level. In a very literal sense, this is truly 'Living the Consumer'." Initial reactions to the on-going program have been positive from segment team members, who say they have already developed deeper insights into the consumer perspfl^ve. Results from the initiative will be compilecHmd used to develop new strategies with regard to customer relations in the travel sector. PAGE 3

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World of Heineken | 2005 | | pagina 5