Abstract
The Heineken family entered the beer business in 18641, when Sir Gerard Adriaan Heineken bought a brewery in the heart of Amsterdam. Over the past 140 years, three generations of the Heineken family have built and expanded the brand and the company worldwide. In recent figures, the company has pursued a leader position in Europe and taken the third place in the world, behind ABInBev and SABMiller. Thus, the present report extensively analyzes the strategies
and processes in which Heineken's major success relies.
Firstly, it is important to analyze the Macro environmental factors that influence the brewing
industry as a whole and the Micro environment which directly affects Heineken's performance.
Moreover, by analyzing the environment that surrounds the company, it is possible to identify opportunities to be seized and threats that must be minimized. Thus, threats have been increasing; besides fierce competition, stricter laws and popularity of non‐alcoholic drinks make it harder to succeed in the beer market. Nevertheless, there is also a promising flush of opportunities such as the green and health trends, and the exploration of emerging markets. The present report also focuses on an intensive Heineken's organizational analysis and strategy formulation. The goal is to gain a deeper understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the company as well as the strategies and activities that lead to its great triumph in the international beer industry.
Heineken's ultimate goal is to build a stronger, more competitive global business and provide superior value to the customers. And it has been able to do so by "harnessing our core strengths: the commitment and excellence of our people, the strength of our brands and our ambition to build profitable future growth" (Jean Francois von Boxmeer, Heineken CEO).
