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

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World of Heineken | 2010 | | pagina 24