A New Era for Heineken USA

Heineken Netherlands shipments into the US for the first half of the year were only up 0.1%, but that's not the whole story. Heineken USA distributor sales-to-retailers were up 5.1%, indicating an inventory reduction by HUSA warehouses in the US to free up working capital (and help pay for the weak dollar). That explains why Netherlands shipments from Beer Institute data have appeared so low all year (see chart below).HUSA general manager Frans van der Minne told analysts recently that