A Dutch court has ruled in favour of Heineken in a case brought against the Dutch brewer by its former Russian distributor, First Federation. The court ruled that Heineken had legally terminated its contract with First Federation.
Following the ruling, Heineken announced that it was to proceed with its plans to begin selling locally brewed Heineken in Russia. “Heineken will continue to execute its plans. It has been brewing Heineken in St Petersburg since February this year and will bring the beer this month to the market,” a spokesman for the company said.
First Federation had alleged that Heineken had not given proper notice of its intention to terminate the contract, rendering the termination invalid. However, Heineken said it had first signalled its intention to brew Heineken locally when it announced its acquisition of the St Petersburg brewery, Bravo, in February 2002.
