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.
Mr. Mutters takes on the leadership of Vietnam’s leading beer company amid challenges in its business operations. 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 declined by 20%, mainly due to the Vietnamese market. The group attributed this to economic difficulties 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 while operating vehicles, which significantly reduced revenue.
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 now has six breweries and thousands of employees 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 due to Decree 100, which also led to changes in consumer behavior and habits.
Craft Beer Shutdown Costs Quang Nam Province $20 Million in Annual Revenue
The closure of the Heineken plant in Quang Nam province will result in a significant loss of revenue for the region, according to local authorities. The province stands to lose an estimated 500 billion VND ($21.5 million) annually due to the plant’s shutdown. This development underscores the economic impact that large-scale manufacturing facilities can have on their surrounding areas, and highlights the importance of sustainable industrial policies and diversification strategies to mitigate such risks.