RED STRIPE announced a simple, two-pronged approach to spur top-line growth, and sustain profitability, secure home market and drive exports.
LOOKING OVERSEAS
With a mandate to map the aggressive growth path of Red Stripe, the International marketing team is on a mission to identify new opportunities globally, and drive breakthrough performance in exports.
"To make this a reality, we will be making major investments behind the brand to ensure that we realise the full potential of Red Stripe," Grace Silvera, international marketing director said at the company's Investors' Forum on Wednesday.
"New markets will deliver significant growth over the next five years," she added, and spoke of the brand's natural affinity to attract today's global consumers because they find the quality and image of this great product of Jamaica very appealing.
Red Stripe is currently the fastest growing beer in the premium import lager segment in North America. With success in the U.S. of up to 20 per cent in growth, and the United Kingdom still registering double-digit volume increase after more than 30 years, Red Stripe is on its way to full global penetration.
The brand was successfully launched in Australia in October last year, re-launched in Switzerland and Sweden in February, and is on track for a revival in Canada.
RAPIDLY EXPANDING
Red Stripe is rapidly expanding into new markets and the plan is to spread into a further 10 European countries by 2006. Red Stripe is going where no other Jamaican brand has gone before, and now has the advantage of the breadth and depth of Diageo's global network behind it," Ms. Silvera said.
In the words of Diageo's CEO Paul Walsh, "A massive part of our future lies in capitalising on the export opportunities and the potential of this fantastic brand called Red Stripe."
Despite having 90 per cent of the local beer market, consumer research shows that a number of areas for domestic growth exist.
With a strategy to drive domestic beer growth even more aggressively, Red Stripe will be looking to redefine the market, innovate to meet changing consumer needs, enhance customer base and entrench Red Stripe as Jamaica's national beer.
"We expect to build on the two per cent volume growth of the first half of the financial year, and strategically reinvest profits for sustained growth in the future," Red Stripe's finance director, Hans Van Lierop said.
And to drive the growth of each brand in the portfolio, Red Stripe will:
Reinforce Red Stripe's iconic brand status
Build on the credentials of Red Stripe Light as the premium Light beer alternative
Leverage strong consumer appeal of Guinness to create opportunities for more consumers to connect with the brand
Continue to drive growth on Heineken as the premium, international beer brand
Expand opportunities for consumption of Smirnoff Ice
Invest behind the proven strength of Dragon Stout
Leverage Malta among its core target groups
New possibilities for innovation, increased at-home consumption, and growth in the female consumer market should drive higher volumes.
"We will look to innovative ways to meet more of our changing consumer needs, so that our brands will satisfy more consumer motivations and occasions," the finance director also said.
With these strategies in place securing the domestic market and an increased focus on exports Red Stripe will continue to drive shareholder value and returns.
