2. BRIEF HISTORY
1864: Gerard Adriaan Heineken, only 22 years old,
buys the Haystack brewery on February 15th.
1873: On January 11, HEINEKEN’s Bierbrouwerij
Maatschappij N.V (HBM) is established.
The founder's son, Henry Pierre Heineken, managed
the company from 1917 to 1940, and continued
involvement with the company until 1951
Henry Pierre's son, Alfred Henry "Freddy" Heineken,
started working at the company in 1940, and 1971
was appointed Chairman of the Executive Board.
3. UNIQUE FACTORS
Heineken was the first and remains the only
truly global beer brand, enjoyed in 178
countries around the world
We have a unique, worldwide footprint with
operations in over 70 countries, which means
we have a broader reach for our brands than
any other brewer
We have an internationally diverse, dynamic,
committed and entrepreneurial team of over
85,000 employees
4. UNIQUE FACTORS
Since 2008, Heineken has acquired FEMSA
Cervesa, Scottish & Newcastle, and five
breweries in Nigeria
Today, HEINEKEN is the number one brewer in
Europe and the number three brewer by
volume in the world. With recent acquisitions
in Africa, India, Asia and Latin America, we are
continuing to increase our presence within
emerging markets, which will contribute to
our ongoing growth.
5. PROBLEMS
Confronting a Globalizing Industry
Wrestling with Change
Maintaining a Premium Position
Targeting Smaller Demographic Segments.
Tired, Reliable but Unexciting Brand
6. CONFRONTING A
GLOBALIZING INDUSTRY
Beer industry has been undergoing significant
change due to consolidation
Many brewers have also expanded their
operations without the use of such acquisitions
Heineken has to adapt to keep up or lose it’s
opportunities in the global market share
7. WRESTLING WITH
CHANGE
For the first time Heineken implemented non-
family, non-Dutch management team
Heineken has created management positions to
more clearly define different spheres of
responsibility
Executive board cut from five members to three
Executive committee cut from 36 members to 13
8. MAINTAINING A
PREMIUM POSITION
For decades Heineken was able to rely on the
success of its brand, but since the 1990’s, “It’s in
danger is becoming a tired, reliable, but
unexciting brand”
The firm has been working on attracting
younger drinkers, and launched a video called
The Entrance which became a major success
and lowered the average age of the Heiniken
drinker from 40 to 30
Heineken has also been stepping up its
marketing to Hispanics, acquiring FEMSA
Cervesa has greatly aided this process
9. BUILDING A GLOBAL
PRESENCE
Despite it’s presence around the globe,
Heineken is in danger of falling behind its
competitors
In order to keep up with competitors Heineken
needs to acquire bigger breweries, instead of
many smaller breweries
10. SWOT ANALYSIS
-Established track
record as brewer
with international
success
-owns over 200
brands of beer
-Size
-Grown so large
there is little room
to expand market
-Made acquisitions
in emerging
markets such as
India, Asia, and
Latin America
where there is
large potential for
growth
-Anheuser-Busch
the worlds largest
brewer
-Threat in
emerging
marketing where it
is investing
11. PROPOSED SOLUTIONS
Alignment of vision between Heineken family
shareholders and new upper management
New management needs to keep in mind the values
that the Heineken family established within the
company when it was founded
The current Heineken family shareholders need to
realized the importance of globalization and trust the
new management team
12. RECOMMENDED
SOLUTION
Focus on expanding marketing efforts to keep up
with new company growth
Potential Areas of Growth :
Younger Consumers
• Sponsor exciting events (model after Red Bull)
• Use social media to get customers involved
• Make Heineken more available to consumers
New Demographic Groups
• Market new acquisitions to appeal to similar
cultural groups in different countries
• Identify emerging consumer groups and focus
efforts to gain market shares
