Wietse Mutters joined Heineken in 2008 and has been serving as the CEO of Heineken Italy since May 2020. In this role, he has led the Heineken Italy team in business development, market share growth, and revenue and profit enhancement.
Wietse Mutters, CEO of Heineken Italy, assumes the hot seat at Vietnam’s leading beer company.
Mr. Mutters takes on the challenge of leading the top beer company in Vietnam at a time when the business is facing difficulties. According to Heineken’s 2023 financial report, operating profit reached €3.2 billion (nearly $3.5 billion), a decrease of almost 25%. Total beer production for 2023 fell 4.7% to 24.2 billion liters.
In particular, beer production in the Asia-Pacific region decreased by over 10% in 2023, and operating profit also declined by 20%, mainly due to the Vietnamese market. The group attributed this decline to the impact of economic challenges and stricter policies on alcohol consumption in the country. Along with Nigeria, Vietnam was one of the two main markets that caused the company’s global beer production to drop by nearly 5%.
Most recently, in late June 2024, Heineken temporarily halted operations at its brewery in Quang Nam province due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the implementation of Decree 100 on handling violations of alcohol concentration levels while operating vehicles, which significantly reduced revenue.
Heineken Vietnam is a joint venture between Heineken and Saigon Trading Group (Satra).
Heineken Vietnam is a joint venture between Heineken and the Saigon Trading Group (Satra). Starting with its first brewery in Ho Chi Minh City in 1991, the company has since expanded to six breweries and employs thousands of people nationwide.
In 2022, Heineken Vietnam also contributed to the economy at a level equivalent to 1.04% of the country’s total GDP – a record high since the company started updating this figure in its first Sustainability Report. However, the company faced challenges as consumer spending decreased, and Decree 100 led to changes in consumer behavior and habits.
