The Netherlands-based brewing group, Heineken, has said it has secured major distribution deals for the UK market which will see the brewer supply premium beer directly to 1,000 pubs and four of the UK’s leading supermarket chains.
The announcement of the deal follows Heineken’s decision to terminate its brewing-under-licence deal in the UK with Whitbread and begin importing directly from the Netherlands. This also coincided with the company focusing on high-strength 5% abv lager. The locally brewed Heineken had been 3.4% abv.
Heineken’s UK managing director, Rob Marijnen, said the brewer had signed distribution deals with the UK’s three biggest pubs groups, Enterprise Inns, Punch Taverns and the Laurel Pub Company, while also securing deals with the major supermarket chains, Tesco, J. Sainsbury, ASDA and Safeway.
Marijnen also said the company expected to sign up a further 300 pubs next month and was also hoping to agree a distribution deal with the UK’s major off licence chain, Thresher’s. “We are taking a long-term approach to make Heineken a premium brand in the UK,” Marijnen said.
Heineken had warned that its strategy would impact on UK sales and profits in the short term. CEO, Anthony Ruys, said in March that the move could reduce UK volumes, around 2.2m hls in 2002, by between 1.0m and 1.5million hectolitres in 2003 and result in a €20m (US$22.46m) fall in UK profits. He also said that its UK business could take four or five years to recover.
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By GlobalData
