Chapter 8 Chapter 7 Shannon de Carvalho Heineken in the Netherlands: A Keeper of the Beer Myth

Some people have spent the wealth of several generations, some people have wasted the legend of several generations, and some people are sticking to a myth of wealth. Shannon de Carvalho Heineken is the stickler. Her great-grandfather created the most individual brand in the history of the world's beer industry, and her father injected international vitality into the brand.As for her, her problem seems to be to sustain it.Amid speculation that she would sell her company, she told her shareholders: "We are responsible for Heineken's past, present and future." The once unknown Shannon de Carvalho Heineken became famous for his Dutch Heineken beer.Heineken's Shannon de Carvalho Heineken owns most of the company's shares after the death of the third generation founder, and became the new richest man in the Netherlands.In the 2005 "Forbes" list of the world's richest people, she ranked 103rd with $4.9 billion.

Heineken, owned by Shannon de Carvalho Heineken, is a beer group with a long history of 142 years. It currently ranks third among the world's brewers, accounting for about 7% of the world's beer market.The obvious difference from other giants is that Heineken is a truly global enterprise. Today, when the world beer market as a whole is becoming saturated or even shrinking, its profits come from markets around the world.Although it may not have any advantages compared with local bosses in various places, this brand is widely regarded as a well-known beer brand in the world that is truly recognized by consumers of various cultural backgrounds.

In addition to the recognition in the international market, in the Netherlands, the birthplace of Heineken beer, Shannon de Carvalho Heineken and Heineken beer are almost as famous as the country's world-famous windmills and tulips. Since beer is one of the daily drinks of the Dutch, almost every town had a brewery in the Middle Ages, and there were nearly 700 breweries in the Netherlands in its heyday.Today there are only 25 beer breweries left, and these few remaining breweries have been reborn in these years.At the same time, some local bars or small hotels also began to make beer for guests to taste.More importantly, Heineken has almost become a symbol of these Dutch beers in the world, and has brought Dutch beer to the world.For this reason, this country has even specially launched a special tourist route of the Heineken (Heineken) Beer Museum built on the basis of the old Heineken beer factory.On this line, it takes about an hour and a half for tourists to follow the guide to visit the entire beer museum, and then they can drink unlimited Heineken beer.It is said that in Amsterdam, the Heineken (Heineken) Beer Museum is one of the most popular tours.

Now, although Heineken and Shannon de Carvalho Heineken, who have gone through 142 years, still enjoy the glory of their ancestors, they need to face a new mission of how to protect the life of the brand and the growth of wealth. The history of Heineken began in 1864.At the time, only 22-year-old Gerard Heineken - the great-grandfather of Shannon de Carvalho Heineken - bought an old brewery in Amsterdam with a history of more than 400 years. After some hard work, He brewed his ideal beer. In 1873, the Heineken Beer Company was established. Its beer has a smooth and sweet taste, which is very popular in the market, and soon became famous all over the Netherlands.

However, although the company grew day by day, the Heineken family lost its controlling position in Heineken in the early 1940s due to high debts, family conflicts and mismanagement. In June 1942, Freddie Heineken, who was only 19 years old, entered the company founded by his grandfather.He has a sharp mind and quickly became familiar with the rules of the business circle. By quietly buying shares in Heineken, in 1954, he regained control of Heineken for the family."I want to prevent strangers from doing things in my name that I don't approve of," he said at the time. Freddie Heineken was a long-time Heineken Brewing Company communications officer with a knack for product packaging and merchandising.He personally selected the Heineken logo, and in order to make the traditional Heineken logo more friendly, he also changed the traditional brown color of the Heineken beer bottle to green, and the three letters "e" in the logo were designed with a slight inclination .

In 1971, Freddie Heineken became the president of Heineken. He tried to expand his family business infinitely, and the fact is that he was quite visionary in the beer business.He was the first European brewer to realize that it was possible to expand the beer business beyond its borders.Freddie Heineken's biographer, Barbara Smit, said: "He saw very early on that Europe was going to be one big unified market, while others saw it much later." Under his leadership, Heineken not only gradually entered other European countries, but also traveled across the oceans and landed in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.It can be said that Heineken was far ahead of other competitors in becoming a global brand.In addition, through the cooperation with distributor Leo Van Manshin Sr., Heineken successfully entered the United States, the world's largest beer consumption market, and became the main imported beer in this country.

The US "Business Weekly" once conducted a survey on global brands. In this survey, Heineken ranked second only to Budweiser in the United States.Although Budweiser is superior in sales revenue, its influence is mainly in North America, while Heineken has been recognized all over the world and is the most thoroughly internationalized brand in the beer industry.Even in the United States, Heineken is the most well-known imported beer.It is said that an American wholesaler once invited a group of marketing students to identify a large number of beer bottles with their trademarks torn off.Among them, there was only one bottle that they recognized immediately, and that was the short, thick green bottle of Heineken beer.

It can be said that Freddie Heineken created and completed the basic model of global Heineken in the 1970s and 1980s. During his tenure as the company's president from 1971 to 1989, Heineken truly became the world's most diverse country. People are enjoying beer together. There is another thing in Freddie Heineken's life that is worth writing about: he is the only rich man on the world's rich list who was kidnapped and released. In November 1983, Freddie Heinegen was kidnapped along with his driver. Fortunately, the Dutch beer tycoon was released after paying an $18 million ransom, most of which was later recovered.After three weeks of ordeal, he still has his sense of humor.Freddie Heineken once said to Sir Frank Roy, chairman of the board of directors of Global Roche Partners, which represented Heineken advertising: "They tortured me and made me drink 'Carlsberg' beer."

After the kidnapping, Freddie Heineken ordered that the Heineken chief executive's office suite must be bulletproof.So to this day, the office of the CEO of Heineken still maintains this tradition-only the door of this office weighs a ton. Freed Freddie Heineken began to reclusive, and more low-key, but this has not reduced the influence of his personal charm on the Heineken brand. The 1993 beer recall incident is a clear example of Freddie Heineken's own behavior to create Heineken's personality. In August 1993, Heineken announced the recall of a glass bottled beer that had been released to the markets of eight countries and regions including Australia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Hong Kong.The reason is that the company detected glass shards in the beer production process, so it suspected that the beer that had been put on the foreign market might contain "dangerous goods" that had not been detected.Freddie Heineken declared to the media not to buy his own beer.

Freddie Heineken recalled the beer that had been released in eight countries and regions. Although the economic loss was huge and the market risk was huge, Freddie Heineken was convinced that Heineken was the For the best beer brand, doing so will only make people believe in Heineken more. Compared with the price paid for recycling beer, Heineken will gain more benefits, and this benefit will also be potential and long-term. In 1989, Freddie gave up the chairmanship of Heineken's management committee, but he still served as the chairman of Heinegen Holdings in the Netherlands, and controlled 50.005% of Heineken's shares through this independently accounted holding company. So as to ensure the controlling interest in Heineken.However, even after leaving the company, Freddie Heineken still did not give up his attention to the company. He chose to live only a short distance from the company headquarters and often talked with his successor, Karel Wilstein. conversation.

On January 3, 2002, after 13 years of leaving Heineken, Freddie Heineken died peacefully at his home in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, at the age of 78. When he passed away, his wife of 53 years, Lu He was accompanied by Seale and their only daughter, Shannon de Carvalho Heinegan.On this day, Shannon de Carvalho Heineken officially took charge of the Heineken company and the Heineken brand owned by the company, and became the new richest man in the Netherlands. Freddie Heineken, who influenced the world's beer pattern for half a century, is gone, and what he often said is so strange: "I don't sell beer, I sell happiness." Freddie Heineken's humor or his extraordinary talents in product packaging and marketing are the basis for every Heineken advertisement to be popular-in the beer industry, only Budweiser's little ant can match it . What Heineken advertising has given Heineken beer is a unique personality. Its weird, witty and upside-down style has made it uniquely recognized in a huge market that looks similar on the surface. In the 1970s and 1980s, Heineken launched a very effective advertising campaign into the UK market under the leadership of Freddie Heineken.Traditionally, this market has been dominated by locally produced Ale and Bitter.While Heineken's advertising campaign focuses on emphasizing its refreshing, the Pilsner it provides is all iced.At the same time, Heineken also inherited the beer tradition of the European continent.This strategic design is mainly used to attract young people.Drinking Heineken beer is a lot of fun.At the time, Heineken’s ad opted for a cynical, even slightly risqué subject matter that stood in stark contrast to the stale, blue-collar image of the local beer. Under the behest of Freddie Heineken, from 1974 to 1985, Heineken launched a series of adverts that were praised by the outside world.For example, in print advertisements, Heineken beer can stretch the ears of Mr. Spock (a character in a famous American science fiction movie, similar to Shunfeng’s ear), make Rudolph (Santa Claus)’s red nose red again, and make the villain Ain (the most famous villain in American cinema) transforms into an angel with a halo.Such is the power of this fight that Heineken has become an everyday phrase, even a comedian's humor.People who drink Heineken will feel how different they have become. In the late 1990s, Heineken launched a series of advertisements for beauties and beer. After these advertisements landed in China, they were regarded as masterpieces by many people in the advertising industry.China Advertising Network once described one of them: In the lyrical English singing, a man is shopping in a supermarket.Suddenly, his eyes are drawn to a beautiful woman who is struggling on tiptoe, trying to get the top shelf of beer.The man walked over, and the lady had bright eyes and bright teeth, and a charming smile.The man helped her take down the remaining two bottles of Heineken beer. The lady looked at him with a grateful and charming smile. Perhaps she had encountered many such men who took the initiative to strike up a conversation and help in her life.If the story ends here, and the two fall in love with each other over beer, it will be a mediocre romance.But this is a commercial film, and the thinking of the advertiser is not based on common sense. After the man got the beer, his facial expression changed and his smile turned to embarrassment.He swept away his previous gentlemanly demeanor and unexpectedly put the beer in his arms. Fearing that the lady would snatch it from him, he ran away in a hurry, leaving the unbelievable lady and the audience.Seeing this, a humorous and innovative commercial highlights its full shape, and the audience can't help but laugh. Heineken made another joke with everyone. It has always been a very old theme of beautiful women with fine wine. Looking at the whole film, there is no fresh element, and they are all common ingredients.But Heineken made a different choice - the relationship between beauties, wine, and ball games in life has always been difficult for men to balance, and nine out of ten have the experience of having trouble with their wives because of wine - Heineken's unique brand Personality, vivid picture. In addition to this advertisement, Heineken’s other advertisement for beauty and wine is also well received: In a crowded conveyor belt sushi restaurant, the male and female protagonists are seated far apart.The man raises the wine to the woman first, and then pours it into the wine glass.He put the wine glass on the conveyor belt in front of him, hoping to deliver it to the woman, but someone took it away halfway.He had no choice but to pour a second glass, which was also taken away by others on the conveyor belt, and the first person who took the glass returned the empty glass.The words "let it go" appeared on the screen.The camera turned around, but saw the actor put his hand on his forehead, and then the woman smiled—it turned out that the entire conveyor belt was lined with Heineken beer.It is said that after the advertisement was broadcast in Taiwan, the sales volume of Heineken beer rose sharply, and the sales performance surged to three times that of the same period last year. The unique and systematic Heineken advertising gives Heineken beer stronger vitality and brand characteristics.In addition to the advertisements that make the world laugh out loud, the localization of Heineken's marketing is also one of the key factors for its brand growth.Unlike many brewers, Freddie Heineken and his family prefer to sponsor sports events and other cultural events. The Heineken Music Festival is a masterpiece that Heineken has continued for many years. Beer lovers all over the world know Heineken's traditional "October Music Festival". In fact, Heineken participates in as many as 30 music festivals around the world.In Switzerland, Heineken is one of the main sponsors of the Monterrey Jazz Festival, which has a 32-year history and is considered by many to be the most successful music festival to date; Puerto Rico Jazz Festival, which quickly became one of the top jazz festivals in the world; in Brazil, Heineken sponsored the Heineken Brazilian Traditional Folk Music Festival held in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro; The popular Mount Fuji Music Festival attracts music lovers with different tastes to appreciate the essence of Eastern and Western music. Heineken is not only an important sponsor of music events, but also created events such as "Heineken Open-air Prom Night", which is the first to integrate classical music and pop music, and has become the most successful form of impromptu live performances in Europe. and among the most popular concerts. The sponsorship of concerts of different cultures is echoing the international Heineken advocated by Freddie Heineken, which is why Heineken can become the most popular beer in the world.As Van Carnebeek puts it, Heineken's marketing strategy has given full play to "the unique power of music and its role in crossing language barriers, breaking down cultural boundaries, and bringing people closer together." Heineken created the Dutch beer myth with more characteristic advertising behavior and SP promotion. The unique advertisements can be said to be a fulcrum for Freddie Heineken and Heineken to the world, but in Freddie Heineken's later years, the person responsible for implementing these advertisements and the operation of the entire Heineken company was The outsider, he is Anthony Ruiz. Ruiz, 57, was a former top executive at Unilever before being promoted to the top job after 10 years at Heineken.As a professional manager, all he can do is to manage the Heinegan family's property well.At this point, Freddy Heineken's departure may be a good thing for him, because Shannon de Carvalho Heineken is not as hands-on as his father in the management of Heineken, but It was the CEO who basically handed over the day-to-day affairs of the company to Heineken. After the death of Freddie Heineken, Heineken remains the oldest global brand in the world.At this point, neither Anhuizer Busch, which ranks first, SAB Miller, which ranks second, or Interbrew, which ranks fourth, cannot compare with Heineken.But the problem is that the $367 billion world beer market is changing.In the United States and Europe, where people are increasingly fond of wine, two-thirds of Heineken's profits come from the United States and Europe.Globally, the beer industry is increasingly competitive and fragmented more than ever: the four largest beer companies account for less than one-third of the global market; A large number of new products are pouring into the market, and there are more and more brands in the beer market.These new brands range from low-sugar beers to beers imported from Italy and the Czech Republic. In order to overcome these emerging challenges, Ruiz is pushing Heineken to get rid of the corporate culture of seeking stability and fearing chaos. Ruiz gradually reformed Heineken's conservative corporate culture, but he emphasized that everything in the company is just improvement, not revolution. . Although Freddie Heineken was good at marketing, he was conservative when it came to financial investing.In his final years, he stagnated Heineken while SAB Miller and Interbrew grew through mega-deals.Unlike Freddie, who insisted that Heineken maintain its brand identity, Shannon allowed Ruiz more freedom in dealing with the brand. She gave Ruiz greater autonomy. After officially taking over Heineken in 2002, Ruiz invested billions of dollars and conducted many mergers and acquisitions around the world.At present, Heineken has joint ventures with more than 110 beer companies in more than 50 countries and regions, and Heineken beer is sold in more than 170 countries and regions.In addition, he actively inherits the company's funding for music, sports, and art, and organizes various competitions around the world.In many major tennis tournaments, concerts and film festivals, people can see the green logo of Heineken. It is particularly worth mentioning that Ruiz began to pay more attention to the Chinese market. In 2004, Ruiz led Heineken’s investment in Guangdong Beer Group, which was rated as one of the top ten mergers and acquisitions in China that year. On January 28, 2004, the two parties formally signed a contract, and Heineken invested HK$580 million in Guangdong Brewery 21 % equity.Among the four major brewers in the world, Heineken may be the most low-key brand in China. Prior to this, the other three giants have been making mergers and acquisitions in China, and Heineken has obviously lagged behind the other three.After becoming a shareholder of Canton Beer, Heineken will use Canton Beer's good sales network in Guangdong to expand, and Heineken can complement Canton Beer in terms of brand management, product technology, and capital development. Canton Beer can use Heineken's scientific research strength Strengthen product research and development.Ruiz obviously wants to send such an important signal: Heineken is going to exert its strength in China. For these cautious mergers and acquisitions led by Ruiz, Sir Frank Roy, who was in charge of Heineken's advertising business in the UK and the United States, believes that it is difficult for today's companies to spend a long time building a brand like Heineken. Heineken, on the other hand, "has the will and patience to see it through."In this regard, Shannon de Carvalho Heineken supported him and said: "For those M&A transactions that are absolutely necessary, we will always consider them." Since taking office, Ruiz and Heineken have done more than that.In the eyes of many people, Heineken is a traditional old brand.In order to improve the image of the Heineken brand, Ruiz adjusted the marketing strategy.Heineken organized matching sales activities on the occasion of the release of big-investment movies that young people love, such as "The Matrix II".Heineken has also sponsored events such as horse races, where the winners can go to a Heineken party in Jamaica. In addition, in terms of advertising and packaging, Heineken is taking a bolder approach, aiming to win over the 20-year-old consumer group.Most recently, Heineken launched a silver-and-green aluminum bottle, which is sold in exclusive clubs in Europe and the United States for three times the price of Heineken on tap."Our strategy is right, but after years of success, we can be smarter," Ruiz said. This marketing strategy has already produced results in the United States.In the United States, the average age of a Heineken drinker has fallen from the mid-40s in the mid-1990s to the early 30s now.Ruiz aims to get that age down to under 30 in the coming years. Meanwhile, Ruiz continued to maintain the international character of Heineken advertising.For example, in the series of advertisements serialized in "Business Weekly", the advertisements in each issue of the magazine are different, introducing a bar with both historical origins and iced Heineken near a famous place, and attaching a detailed address to prove its existence , and under the trademark of Heineken, there is a line of small words - "the purest beer in the world".On a piece of paper, Heineken's internationalization, cultural connotation, high quality and other characteristics are subtly integrated together. Of course, these efforts only helped Heineken overcome the downturn in the global beer market that began in 2001. The double-digit profit growth of Heineken for six consecutive years did not continue after 2002.However, by 2004, Heineken's situation had improved, still maintaining a profit of 900 million US dollars, sales of 11.6 billion US dollars and a 7% global market share. Regarding Heineken's status quo, Ruiz, who is low-key but continues to accumulate wealth for the Heineken family, said: "We are interested in growth, but not at any cost." This excellent and trusted person by Shannon de Carvalho Heineken may be the only person with a foreign surname who can help Shannon de Carvalho Heineken stick to Heineken. Heineken's headquarters is located at 21 Tweed Wetterling-Plassen Street in Amsterdam. On the walls of the CEO's office in this huge office building, there are portraits of three generations of leaders of Heineken. With a serious expression, he stared at the worker in front of him. Now there is one more person watching Ruiz, and she is Shannon de Carvalho Heinegan. Shannon de Carvalho Heinegan is a 50-year-old mother of five.She and her husband, Michelle de Carvalho, who works in an investment bank, live in billionaire London year-round.Michelle de Carvalho is an Olympic skier who is currently a member of Heineken's supervisory committee and vice-chairman of the board of directors of Citigroup in London responsible for investment finance. As the fourth-generation heir to the Heineken family fortune, Shannon de Carvalho-Heinegan is very different from her elders. She seems to be more willing to insist on her reservation of ownership of Heineken in silence.After acquiring her father's property in 2002, she did not return to the Netherlands to participate in the day-to-day management of the company, and it was usually her husband who spoke on behalf of her and the Heineken family. Not many people know about Shannon de Carvalho Heineken. Vuursteen, executive chairman of the board of directors of Heineken Holdings, said that Shannon de Carvalho Heineken's personality is a bit like her mother's. She has a good character, speaks slowly and softly, is very elegant and has a very temperament. Vuursteen believes that Shannon de Carvalho-Heineken is still very positive about taking the helm of Heineken. Far from the Netherlands, Shannon de Carvalho-Heineken faced many challenges, including whether he could continue the close relationship his father had established with the company's other new shareholders, and ensure that Heineken beer was important to the family. traditional meaning. After the death of Heineken Sr. in 2002, there was much media speculation that Shannon de Carvalho Heineken might consider selling her 50.005% stake in Heineken, but she did not. Shannon de Carvalho Heineken has repeatedly stated in public that the independence of Heineken must be maintained."We are responsible for Heineken's past, present and future," she told Heineken Holdings shareholders, declaring, through her husband, de Carvalho, that there was absolutely no prospect of selling any of the company's assets. sex, he said: "Our mission is to hand over a healthy company to the next generation." In addition to continuing the family business, Shannon de Carvalho Heineken also has to face a beer world that is completely different from her parents. Since 2000, the world beer industry is ushering in a new era.Many professional organizations predict that the world's brewing industry will complete the last stage of mergers and acquisitions within a few years. In the beer market, only the largest beer companies will remain in the world in a few years, and the competition at that time will be like a battle. "A Ball for Elephants".And as the new leader of Heineken, is she good enough to join in this elephant dance? In addition, unlike many rich people who manage their own businesses, Shannon de Carvalho Heinegan chose professional managers.As Heineken's largest shareholder, Heineken CEO Anthony Ruiz needs to hear from the new leader when making any major decisions, and she has the final say.Will such an operation lead to the final correct opinion being changed by capital? For the future, Shannon de Carvalho Heineken remains optimistic.She believes that the 142-year-old Heineken company has a good tradition, and the development of her company is "like pouring beer. Although it is poured slowly, it is still possible to win in the end." Hopefully, this is where the adherents of this Dutch beer myth end up.Dad created a platform, but it was me who did the work.