Making the Most
of Summer
World ofHeineken 42 - summer 2010
A temporary population explosion occurs every summer when
thousands of northern Europeans descend on their southern
neighbours for sun, sea, scenery... and a few sips of Heineken®. The
logistics of making sure their thirst is quenched - and that business
booms during the summer months - can take months of preparation,
but the results are worth the planning.
With more than 7,000 kilometres of coast and a sunny disposition, it's
not surprising that Italy acts as a magnet for tourists. As the world's
fifth most popular tourist destination, the summer season can bring
an influx of as many as 50,000 additional customers. Many premises
spring into life only for the summer season, meaning that the pressure
is on to make sure the beer business is ready to deliver as soon as the
tourist migration begins.
Lorenzo Viganö, Horeca Business Unit Manager, Heineken Italia
explains, "We need to be really precise when forecasting the volumes
of beer we are likely to need for the summer. This allows us to plan
the brewing process effectively, from ordering the raw materials to
allocating resources effectively in our four breweries.
PREDICTING THE UNPREDICTABLE
"Unfortunately, one of the main factors influencing forecast
predictions is as changeable as, well, the weather. The season got
off to a slow start this year due to a cooler than average May." But
according to Lorenzo, even the detail of which day of the week is
hotter than others can lead to peaks and troughs. "For example, it's
important for us that the sun shines during the weekends, as many
Italians leave the cities and head for the coast at the end of the week
if the weather is good."
The coastal outlets offer an extraordinary opportunity for Heineken,
not just in terms of volume but also in presenting a positive image of its
brands. "As a retail outlet we have two big challenges," explains Aldo,
Manager of Park Albatros in San Vincenzo. "Differentiating ourselves
from competitors, and ensuring that we can respond to any problems
with the draught beer equipment, particularly out-of-hours in the
evenings. We chose Heineken as the perfect partner to personalise our
venue. It offers fantastic branding solutions which are perfect for our
target audience. In addition, Heineken's technical assistance is always
available whenever and wherever we need its support."
For retail outlets, maximising sales during this short season gets the
greatest priority. "In my opinion, having an organised and professional
team has the highest impact on our summer sales," suggests
Massimo, Manager of Black Cat in Jesolo Lido Centro. "Beer is our main
product, after water. Heineken Italia's beer culture courses, held on
our premises, give our staff the knowledge and experience they need.
Heineken also supplies great point-of-sale material and tailor-made
staff uniforms - my guys are happy and proud to feel part of the same
family. We only work in summer, so we need to have reliable partners,
and we found this with Heineken."
Most of the summer volume is draught beer, so pre-season
preparation means installing Heineken's special portable 'David'
draught systems in thousands of outlets around the coast. But this
equipment is put to good use in the winter too, comments Lorenzo.
"At the end of the summer, we take out the draught installations from
the coastal locations and move them to the mountain resorts, where
we have just as many new outlets opening up for the skiing season.
We're always on the move, in more ways than one!"
22