Heineken NV history, profile and history video
Heineken NV engages in the brewing and marketing of beers and ciders. Its brands include Heineken, Amstel, Anchor, Biere Larue, Bintang, Birra Moretti, Cruzcampo, Desperados, Dos Equis, Foster’s, Newcastle Brown Ale, Ochota, Primus, Sagres, Sol, Star, Strongbow, Tecate, Tiger and Zywiec. The company operates its business through following segments: Western Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, The Americas, Africa and the Middle East, Asia Pacific, and Head Office/eliminations. It engages in the marketing and consumption of international premium, regional, local and specialty beers and ciders. The company was founded by Gerard Adriaan Heineken on February 15, 1864 and is headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands.“
“Heineken Holding History
Gerard Adriaan Heineken
The Heineken company was founded in 1864 when the 22-year-old Gerard Adriaan Heineken bought a brewery known as De Hooiberg (the haystack) in Amsterdam. In 1869 Heineken switched to the use of bottom-fermenting yeast. In 1873 the brewery’s name changed to Heineken’s Bierbrouwerij Maatschappij (HBM), and opened a second brewery in Rotterdam in 1874. In 1886 Dr. H. Elion, a pupil of the French chemist Louis Pasteur, developed the “Heineken A-yeast” in the Heineken laboratory. This yeast is still the key ingredient of Heineken beer.
Henry Pierre Heineken
The founder’s son, Henry Pierre Heineken (nl), managed the company from 1917 to 1940, and continued involvement with the company until 1951. During his tenure, Heineken developed techniques to maintain consistent beer quality during large-scale production.
After World War I, the company focused more and more on export. Three days after Prohibition ended in the United States, the first Heineken shipment landed in New York. From that day on, Heineken has remained one of the most successful imported beer brands in the United States.
Alfred Henry Heineken
Henry Pierre’s son, Alfred Henry “Freddy” Heineken, started working at the company in 1940, and 1971 was appointed Chairman of the Executive Board. He was a powerful force behind Heineken’s continued global expansion, and while he retired from the Executive Board in 1989, he maintained involvement with the company until his death in 2002.
During this period, Heineken tried to increase its stock price by purchasing competing breweries and closing them down. After World War II, many small breweries were bought or closed. In 1968 Heineken merged with its biggest competitor, Amstel, and in 1975 opened a new brewery in Zoeterwoude. The Amstel brewery was closed in 1980, and its production moved to Zoeterwoude and Den Bosch.
Present
With the part acquisition of Scottish and Newcastle in 2007/2008 Heineken is now the third largest brewer based on revenues, behind the Belgian-Brazillian AB InBev and the British SABMiller.
On January 12, 2010, Heineken International successfully bought the brewery division of Mexican giant FEMSA, and also merged with the company, expanding its reach throughout Latin America. The company will sell its products there through FEMSA, which is the largest bottler and brewery in all of Latin America, and maker of such brands as Dos Equis XX, Bohemia and Sol. FEMSA now owns 20% of Heineken N.V. after the early 2010 all stock deal, becoming its largest single shareholder after the Dutch families (Heineken family and Hoyer family) who owns 25.83% and public shareholders owning 54.17%.
The FEMSA acquisition is expected to keep Heineken in its strong position by growing its market share in the Latin American markets. FEMSA has a massive distribution network and owns Mexico’s largest convenience store chain OXXO, which has thousands of locations throughout the country.”
*Information from Forbes.com and Wikipedia.org
**Video published on YouTube by “Alux.com“.