 History |
The International Beer Brewing concern Heineken entered the Slovak market in 1995. Over the past five years it managed to build up a strong brewing and malting group. In every meaning of the word, Heineken is a consumer oriented company. In order to meet the needs of our consumers we created in a very short time a portfolio of 8 brands: Zlatý Bažant, Corgon, Martiner, Gemer, Kelt (local brands) and Amstel, Murphy's, Heineken (international brands). These brands satisfy the taste of all beer consumers.
Heineken Slovensko is the leader on the Slovak beer market, and is also the most important malt producer in the country. At the end of 2000, Heineken Slovensko, a.s. had a 41.6 % share of the market. On the domestic market we sold 1 million 978 hl of beer and in addition, another 106,100 hl were exported. The volume leader from our portfolio is the premium brand Zlatý Bažant, which had the largest market share of 16.6 %. Heineken Slovensko also produces Zlatý Bažant in Hungary and Poland, under license agreement. Last year's beer sales reached 43,150 hl in Hungary and 13,050 hl in Poland.
Corgon is another successful brand. Repositioning of the brand changed its role from a regional beer to one of the most popular national beers in the mainstream segment.
Malt production reached 110,400 tons, of which 63.9 % was exported. Malt production plants of Heineken Slovensko are unique within the Heineken concern in that they not only trade malt within the organization, but also have a strong database of customers in Central and Eastern Europe.
Total investments of our company since it began its activities in Slovakia exceed SKK 2 billion. Heineken Slovensko invested SKK 670 million in year 2000. The investments were aimed at improving production technology, improving quality and packaging innovation.
The ambition of our company is to be close to consumers, to continually monitor their needs concerning their beer drinking habits and to react, if need be, accordingly. We strive to understand who our consumer is. Our ability to adopt to his needs allows us to remain leader not only in sales, but also in offering service of the highest quality.
The performance we have seen from Heineken Slovensko during the past year is a result of the sustained quality standard achieved from our staff, management and trading partners. Let me thank all of you for successful year 2000.
| Portfolio of the company |
In 2000, Heineken Slovensko, a.s. had 8 brands in its portfolio - Zlatý Bažant, Corgon, Kelt, Martiner, Gemer, Amstel, Murphy's, Heineken. Their share of the market was 41.6 %.
Average annual consumption of beer in Slovakia is 106 liters per capita which places Slovakia among countries with the highest consumption of beer in Europe. In 2000, the Slovak beer market showed a slight growth compared to 1999 of +1.7 %.
 Zlatý Bažant |
In 2000, the premium brand of the Heineken Slovensko portfolio - Zlatý Bažant - reaffirmed its leading position on the Slovak beer market (cumulative share of 16.6 %). Marketing activities supporting the brand succeeded to contribute to higher awareness of the brand. They confirmed the position of Zlatý Bažant as the most famous Slovak beer (Top of Mind).
In the spring of 2000, Zlatý Bažant communicated its first message to consumers with a promotion called Hrajte svoj sen (Play Your Dream). Consumers could collect letters from crown corks and assemble a place of their dream holiday. At the same time there was a promotion in HORECA (hotels, restaurants and cafés) to support sales of draft beer. Promo contests managed to reach a large section of the target group, thanks also to radio support.
At the beginning of the summer holiday, there was the traditional students event Bažant na Mlynoch (Bažant at the Mlyny). Summer was represented by Zlatý Bažant thanks to an image campaign through an original television spot, an abribus campaign and POSMs with a new graphical layout.
Activities of Zlatý Bažant peaked during the autumn promotion - its mechanism and prizes gave rise to euphoria. Katarína na lade a Vianoce na blate (Catherine On Ice and Christmas On Mud) was the first promotion in Slovakia with the main prize based on a hypothesis, covered by an insurance company. This was one of the reasons why the main prize could be so high - 5 x SKK 1,000,000 - and it could be based on an uncertain factor namely temperature on a given day. The event culminated on St. Catherine's day. Strong media support and the original idea of the promo contest all contributed to a record number of 460,000 responses. |
| Corgon |
Year 2000 was more than a great year for the Corgon brand. In terms of increasing volumes, Corgon was the biggest success story of the entire portfolio of the company for year 2000. Annual increase constituted more than 96,000 hl. Its market share increased by 21 % and by the end of the year it reached 12.2 %.
In a relatively short time, Corgon moved from being a local brand to the position of a brand accepted all over Slovakia. One of the main drivers was active sponsorship of two of the most popular sports - ice hockey and football.
Support activities for the Corgon brand went in the spirit of friendship, openess and fun. In the beginning of the year it was Corgon ladová veža (The Corgon Ice Tower) in Štrbské Pleso, and a welcome party to our "silver ice hockey champions" on the SNP square in Bratislava. Summer months brought relax in the form of a sampling promotion Corgon Jazda (The Corgon Ride) which took place on the squares of 15 Slovak cities and towns. A refreshing event Tak polez! (Climb Up!) took place in 6 recreation resorts. In autumn the brand presented itself in a sporty television spot Kvapka (The Drop). In the same period, Corgon consumers were fighting for victory in an amateur darts contest named Corgon Trefa (The Corgon Hit). The brand Corgon closed the year with the first Slovak multipack of 9+1.
| Kelt |
In 2000, the unique mystical brand Kelt kept strengthening its position in the sophisticated segment. Its sales increased by 68 % from 26,400 hl to 44,500 hl, and its market share rose from 0.6 % to 0.9 %. One of the drivers of this increase was an image campaign and a billboard campaign. Kelt was also made visible by two premium multipacks. The summer event Keltský slnovrat (The Celtic Solstice) was an interesting way of presenting the lifestyle of ancient Celts, with presentations of historical crafts, Keltic music and grilling of ox.
Draft Kelt was introduced to the market in the spring season. This event was also supported by a TV campaign and various HORECA events.
| New Acquisitions /Martiner, Gemer/ |
At the end of 1999, the Heineken Slovensko portfolio was extended by 2 local mainstream brands Martiner and Gemer. This was followed by investments into technologies, restructuring of the sales force and marketing support.
| Martiner |
Consumers of the Martiner beer (6.8 % market share) were pleasantly surprised by its very first image campaign on a local radio station and on billboards with the slogan: Martiner. Beautiful Beer, Beautiful Region. It was focused on strengthening loyalty towards the brand. In 2000, Martiner was represented in many events in the region.
| Gemer |
Inclusion of the brand Gemer into the Heineken Slovensko portfolio brought several positive changes. The most positive were the inclusion of a new logo and design of labels and cans. Occupying a 4.8 % market share, Gemer started to use billboards and below-the-line activities to strengthen its position in the region. Success was achieved by two billboard campaigns with the slogan Sila z piva (Strength from Beer), by a HORECA promo (Gemermania) and a FOOD promo (Do každej ruky pät - Five In Each Hand). Strength from Beer was also the headline of an entertainment event for the general public - Den s pivom Gemer (A Day with Gemer Beer).
| Amstel |
Fun, friendship, freedom - these are three basic attributes of the Amstel brand (0.3 % market share). Throughout 2000 all fans of this brand could enjoy live performances by popular Slovak performers, interesting games, and more quality entertainment. In cooperation with FUN Radio, Amstel presented a project of a massive HORECA promotion named Amstel Fun Parties.
| Heineken |
Heineken - the most successful brand and the International flagship product of the Heineken company. In 2000, Heineken beer was a newcomer to Slovakia. Its image positions it among sophisticated brands. Selected activities help it to gradually build a position on the market
| Murphy´s |
Although dark stout beer Murphy's is not very known in Slovakia, it managed to find its consumers. |
