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.
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