“In the beer industry, national brands are going well. Our focus in Romania is on five brands, I do not believe that five brands is much, considering they are on different segments,” van Karnebeek told Business Standard.
On the other hand, Heineken’s portfolio on Western markets is far less expanded, and only includes a few brands. At local level, the five brands on which the company’s strategy is focused are Heineken, Golden Brau, Ciuc Premium, Neumarkt, and Bucegi. To these, the company adds Gosser, Silva, Schlossgold, Zipfer, Edelweiss, and regional brands Gambrinus, Hategana, and Harghita.
“Neumarkt is part of the long-term strategic future, it is a quality beer at a reasonable price. Our priority is to raise sales of this brand,” van Karnebeek said.
Referring to the near future, van Karnebeek said the company is not considering staff reductions or salary cuts, in spite of the lower growth rate of the market, due to the financial crisis. “There will not be the same increases as prior to the crisis. Romania is a good market, which provides opportunities that we must seize. The outlook for the coming 5-10 years is positive, a short crisis of one-two years does not change this,” the General Manager added.
