Heineken CEO Outlines Vision for the Brewer's Global Footprint

BROMSGROVE, England, May 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

The head of Heineken has told just-drinks.com that he sees Africa as "the cornerstone" of the brewer's business, with strong potential across the continent for both mainstream and premium beer, in an exclusive interview published today.

The brewer, which has been operating in the region for over 70 years, has upped its presence of late in Africa, with a partnership with Diageo in South Africa, and victory in a bidding race for two brewers in Ethiopia.

Speaking exclusively to just-drinks, Heineken's CEO, Jean-Francois van Boxmeer, talked up the potential Africa offers the brewer. "Political stability in the African markets is improving, and the middle classes are emerging -- that is what our business is thriving on," he said.

"Africa won't be left at the side of the road; the rest of the world needs Africa. I see big improvements there, it's the cornerstone of our business. We have been multiplying the profits from our operations in Africa by five in around eight years -- it's one of the biggest growth engines we have.

"What Brazil is for Anheuser-Busch InBev, Africa is for Heineken. Sure, it's smaller than Brazil, but we are also earlier in the growth curve."

Regarding Ethiopia specifically, van Boxmeer conceded that the market was well-suited more to mainstream beer rather than premium brands like Heineken.

"Africa has booming markets for mainstream brands," he said. "However, in some of the markets, premium brands have a sizeable share. South Africa is one of the first of them, along with places like Algeria and Nigeria stepping up to the premium segment. Ethiopia will be more focused on mainstream brands, so you have different stages of maturity."

An exclusive two-part interview with Jean-Francois van Boxmeer appears on just-drinks this week.

Read the full interview here: http://www.just-drinks.com/interview/the-wehring-interview-heineken-part-ii_id103993.aspx

The interview is available for full members of just-drinks.com only. To gain access to this interview along with beverage industry information, insight and intelligence visit: http://www.just-drinks.com/membership.aspx  

About just-drinks

Since 1999, http://www.just-drinks.com has been the leading and most respected beverage industry website globally. The site's unique news, analysis, comment and research content is produced and sourced via a dedicated editorial team, worldwide network of correspondents and content partnerships. In addition, the www.just-drinks.com research store provides instant access to over 4,000 market research reports.

Contact
Chris Boaz
[email protected]
+44 (0) 1527 573 600

SOURCE just-drinks.com

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