World of Heineken 38 - summer 2008
Heineken's presence on Main Street in
Gibraltar is clear for all to see
Albert F.Stagnetto, Peter Stagnetto,
Albert M.Stagnetto, Maurice R.J.Stagnetto
Promotional activities mostly take the form
of direct communication with consumers,
says Martijn. "Heineken's presence in
"Gib" on-premise locations is primarily
manifested through the rollout of our global
sponsorships. The Champions League is very
important, for instance, as was the Rugby
World Cup last year. In the off-premise,
Heineken's presence is activated primarily
through supermarket promotions. In some
cases these are linked to sponsorships."
The territory's location in the southernmost
tip of Spain has contributed to its success
as an economy. For many years it was an
important British military and naval base, with
thousands of military personnel based there.
Its military importance declined with the end
of the Cold War, but the economy continued
to thrive. "The market for Heineken® is
growing between three and four per cent
per year," says Maurice. "We're getting more
and more tourists every year. There's also a
growing finance industry in Gibraltar."
The majority of visitors to the territory are
from Spain, comments Martijn van Keulen. But
the territory is seeing increasing numbers of
visitors from other parts of Europe too. "The
improvement of relations with Spain has made
crossing the border much easier," he says. "It
makes a great day trip. Cross the airstrip and
you're in the UK. The feeling is immediately
English. The British pound is the currency, and
you even see red double-decker buses and
bobbies."
In the early years, one of the main challenges
the Stagnetto firm faced in bringing
Heineken® to the market was the fact that the
British drinkers were loyal to the traditional
British pint of ale, rather than lager, which
they saw as 'continental'. "Years ago, when
we began with Heineken, we had to convince
the British forces off their traditional ale pints
and onto the 'wee green bottle'," says Maurice
Stagnetto Jr. "But we broke the mould here.
Our sales reps were fantastic in their efforts
and in a way, it was simple: soldiers, sailors
and airmen had to discover the pleasure of a
cold lager in warm weather."
One factor that has played a role in the long
and stable relationship has been the fact
that both partners have strong familiy ties,
says Martijn. "Of course, the two companies
cannot be compared when it comes to size,"
he says. "But as we've seen in our own case,
a family-oriented business is often more
stable. This is because family businesses
are very dedicated to their goals. This has
certainly been shown by Lewis Stagnetto Ltd,
which is fully Heinekenised and has adopted
Heineken® as its own."
"Lewis, Albert Sr and Maurice in particular,
who nurtured the brand, must take credit for
everything," says Maurice Jr modestly. "They
passed a lot of knowledge on to us about what
to do and what not to do." Albert F. Stagnetto
continues to Chair the company at the age of
80 and together with Maurice Jr, Albert Jr and
Peter ensure that the family firm is an exciting
place to work. "We have four retail outlets on
the Main Street. We're involved in another ten
bars directly, and another 15 are tied to us.
Then there are all the free bars that we also
supply."
The party celebrating this long and successful
partnership is planned for August/September.
So if you're planning to be in the region, you
might think of dropping in.
maurice@stagnetto.com
35
