Brau Union Romania''s commercial manager is pursuing a strategy based on two elements: the increase in market share and in profitability.
The taking over of a top position in a market leading company is no easy task, especially considering that the appointment comes at a time when the company''s market share has gone down a few percentage points.
"I knew right from the start that we had to consolidate our leading position, that I had to build a successful team, improve the speed and quality of execution and also understand the needs of the consumer better," says Marius Melesteu, the commercial manager of Brau Union Romania since March this year.
Even though at the end of 2004 the company''s market share went down from 32% to 28%, the goal set for the management did not target preserving but boosting the market share. "We had to pay attention to increasing profitability at the same time, so that we built our strategy based on these two elements: improvement of market share and of profitability," Melesteu added.
To attain the profitability goals Brau Union Romania decided early this year to cease production of several brands: Kaiser, Arbema, Regun and Ciuc Black, which caused a decline in the sales volume. "We began implementing a strategy that does not only pursue growth in volume but also in value. We knew there was going to be a decline in the volume of sales but that was a loss we undertook from the beginning," Melesteu explained.
He added the restructuring of the brand portfolio focused on "the growth of the top segments", which are capable of consolidating their market position. "We began restructuring the product portfolio to ensure a more efficient global portfolio, which should follow the development of the market and the consumer''s expectations as guidelines," Brau Union''s commercial manager said.
With a reduced portfolio, Brau Union has focused on the development of the strongest brands. "We developed the packaging options for Heineken, adding a series of innovative boxes that had not been present on the market until now," Melesteu explains.
From March until now, the company introduced four types of packaging for Heineken, with the holiday''s first being the Heineken Magnum.
The company launched a new image campaign for Golden Brau and Bucegi. Golden Brau features a new design, but also benefited from a new entry on the PET bottled beer due to a 1.5 litre beer bottle. "We began a national promotion campaign for Golden Brau, Ciuc and Bucegi," Melesteu added.
In his opinion, a strategy alone is never enough, not even if you are convinced it is the best. "The implementation and the manner in which you apply what you set out to are much more important," he believes.
The Brau Union commercial manager says that the evaluation at the beginning showed him the change of strategy would only account for 10% of this year''s efforts.
Pentru alte știri, analize, articole și informații din business în timp real urmărește Ziarul Financiar pe WhatsApp Channels
