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“At Diageo we believe celebrating life, everyday, everywhere means to make the most of life – to be the best you can be at work, at home, with friends, in the community, and for the community. We want our people to progress and fulfill their potential and our company to be a leader, to always make a positive contribution to society, to create shared value, wherever we work.”
With these proclamations, Diageo, the parent company of Guinness Nigeria, announced its sustainability and responsibility targets for 2020, outlining the company’s plans for tackling issues in three key areas –the Alcohol in Society discourse, building thriving communities and reducing environmental impact.
Diageo’s declaration fits into a well-documented trajectory which the company has navigated since its very beginning in Dublin, Ireland, when Arthur Guinness set out on an uncommon quest to build a global beverage brand that would stand the test of time.
His original inspiration, influenced by his experience as a successful brewer, was to provide the people with a healthier drink that would be helpful in stemming the excessive use of hard liquor, which had a very high consumption rate at the time due to the unavailability of sufficiently safe drinking water. The result was a painstaking process and value system that has ensured the production of high quality drinks. Guinness passed on his vision and conviction to his children, who faithfully nurtured Guinness into a distinctive global brand.
Their first task was to secure employee buy-in. This they accomplished via a slate of services that made Guinness an employer of choice in Europe and the world. In the late 19th century, Dublin, the Irish capital, was almost overwhelmed by a huge population growth as people moved into the city in search of a better life. Without adequate facilities and resources, diseases became rampant and the death rate soared. Guinness responded by taking inventory of his workers’ homes. What followed was the adoption of policies that encouraged people to move into better housing and some of these policies and practices are still being used in the country today.
The company subsequently implemented a comprehensive welfare scheme that vastly improved the lives of its workers. There was 24-hour medical and dental care and on-site massage therapists. Funeral expenses as well as pensions were paid by the company. Staff education and those of their children and wives were all paid for. The company had libraries, reading rooms, and athletic facilities, among others. This was way back in 1928.
“A Guinness worker during the 1920s enjoyed full medical and dental care, massage services, reading rooms, subsidized meals, a company funded pension, subsidies for funeral expenses, educational benefits, sports facilities, free concerts, lectures and entertainment, and a guaranteed two pints of Guinness beer a day,” Stephen Mansfield, American bestselling writer, who also authored a book called Guinness, said.
In 258 years, Guinness has maintained its brand purity relatively well; becoming one of the world’s most widely distributed products, and sold in over 150 countries across the globe. On a visit to Ireland in 2011, President Barack Obama took a pint of Guinness and declared, “I feel even more at home after that pint that I had. I feel even warmer.”
Since its establishment in 1759, Guinness had through a deft combination of product innovation and strategic marketing built a dedicated and fiercely loyal consumer base across the globe. There is no other stout brand like Guinness; it boasts of a unique taste that is truly distinctive. Its staying power emanates from a value proposition that ensures that brand experience is consistent with brand promise. This appears to be something around which Guinness has pegged its unique selling proposition, as reflected in its pay-off lines over the years.
The company published its first advert in 1794 but from the early part of the 20th century, it devised a creative way of bonding with its publics through the deployment of witty and engaging ads and taglines, all designed for their eras. Its tagline, ‘Guinness is good for you,’ tapped into a public perception, which is still prevalent in Nigeria, that Guinness had medicinal properties. It was a hit when it was introduced in 1929, and remained a key messaging platform for about four decades. In 1930, ‘Guinness for Strength’ was launched, a campaign that depicted men as gaining strength from Guinness. ‘My Goodness, My Guinness’ (1935), and ‘Lovely Day for a Guinness (1954), were also other hits from Guinness’ highly original marketing inventiveness.
The creative ingenuity got a notch higher with the Guinness Book of World Records. Originally introduced as a marketing stunt, today the book is the ultimate global authority on records and holds a record as the best-selling copyrighted book series of all time, a feat accomplished by inspiring the world to strive for the extraordinary.
Guinness was incorporated in Nigeria about 67 years ago, bringing with it the great legacy of the Irish Guinness family. The first mission was to recreate the core values that haddefined a win-win relationship with stakeholders, be they clients, employees and community as a whole. The starting point was the workforce. The company recognized that a better society would naturally evolve by bettering the lives of its employees. Consequently, through consistent investment in the wellbeing and capacity building of its people emerged an efficient and effective workforce that has created one of Nigeria’s foremost manufacturing companies. The result is that today the work environment at Guinness Nigeria is defined by dedication, conviviality and fairness. In affirmation, Guinness Nigeria was named as one of the best places to work in Nigeria for 2015 by the Great Place to Work Institute. “Guinness Nigeria has demonstrated outstanding performance in the Trust Index and Culture Audit Survey and showcased best practices in employee policies and programmes, which exemplify the five dimensions of the Great Place to Work Model: credibility, respect, fairness, pride and camaraderie’, Victor Ligbago, spokesperson of the Great Place to Work Institute, remarked at the awards ceremony in Lagos.
Guinness Nigeria Plc, listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange since 1965, built its first brewery in Ikeja in 1962, the first Guinness brewery outside of Ireland and Great Britain. The company currently has brewing plants in Ogba, Lagos State; Benin City, Edo State and Aba, Abia State. Brands under its belt include Guinness Foreign Extra Stout and Extra Smooth, Malta Guinness, Harp Lager, Dubic Lager, Snapp, Orijin, Guinness Africa Special and Orijin Zero. Other collectionsfrom the Diageo stable include Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Cîroc, J&B, Baileys, Cuervo, Tanquery and Captain Morgan, amongst others.
Having operated in Nigeria’s manufacturing sector for 67 years, during which the company has attained industry leadership, Guinness undoubtedly understands the requirements for delivering high quality products. The development of quality assurance systems along production chains, driven by the need to produce high quality products, has been the hallmark of Guinness since its operations in Nigeria in 1962. The industry regulator, NAFDAC, has consistently hoisted Guinness Nigeria as epitomizing steadfast adherence to traditional standards of quality and innovation. During a factory tour of the company, NAFDAC had said it was “very happy that each brand is well-controlled and well-situated” and “impressed” with the standard.
“We take our responsibility to deliver quality products seriously and maintain the highest standards in sourcing the highest quality ingredients, and adhering to production best practices. The meticulous and painstaking work, including rigorous quality assurance that precedes the final production of all our products, has a singular objective: to ensure that our consumers drink products that are healthy and comparable with similar products made by a Diageo facility anywhere else in the world,” Managing Director/CEO of Guinness Nigeria Plc, Peter Ndegwa, stated.
Guinness will continue to strengthen its business through significant investments in manufacturing processes, local content development, product innovation, cutting-edge technology and capacity building, Ndegwa emphasised, the aim being to ensure continuous enhancement of the quality of products from its stable. “Our strategy of maintaining a franchise that continues to generate sustainable returns to our stakeholders remains unshaken. Our continued investment in staff training, technology, innovation and system upgrades is to accelerate sustainable value creation for our customers and shareholders,” he stated.
Despite the resilience in the face of economic challenges, the brewing sector is not immune to the pressures of the global economic turbulence. From unfavourable developments in the global oil market, to which Nigeria’s revenues are dependent, to issues pertaining to national fiscal policy, sales and jobs in the manufacturing and hospitality sectors have come under threat. This is further compounded by the rising cost of raw materials, water and energy, as well as foreign exchange risks, inflationary threats and declining purchasing power.
These pressures are forcing the industry’s producers to explore other options towards optimisation in a bid to retain market position and profitability. A central lever here is the use of innovation, automation and technology. Guinness, for instance, has unveiled plans to increase local content usage from the current 43 percent to 75 percent over the next three years. Apart from driving down costs for the company, which will in turn ensure higher returns on investment, the move is expected to create employment opportunities, boost income levels and empower farmers along the agricultural value chain.
The company’s ongoing rights issue, through which it seeks to raise N39,700,688,598 billion from existing shareholders will undoubtedly provide the leverage to execute its growth strategies. The offer opened on Monday July 24, 2017 with a total of 684,494,631 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each up for grabs on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every eleven ordinary shares held by shareholders at the close of business on Wednesday, 15 March, 2017. The issue price is N58 per share. The offer would close on Wednesday, August 30, 2017. A reflection on the mementoes, which Guinness Nigeria has bequeathed to Nigeria, and the company’s trajectory since inception of its operations in Nigeria makes the rights issue a good investment opportunity.
Bemigho Awala
Awala is a Lagos-based communications consultant
