Globalizing an Australian Wine Company
1. A critical evaluation of Steve Millar’s approach to the challenge of leading BRL Hardy to become one of the world’s first truly global wine companies. Using the module concepts, explain whether you would recommend Millar to allow more scope for local responsiveness within his global strategy.
The world today is on the cusp of a globalization age. Advancements in science and technology have heralded in a more interactive and attractive business landscape. However, this has come with inherent challenges in the available market. This is as a result of an ever evolving economic landscape. The changes in the global market trends have necessitated new business ideas to challenge the new business upheavals. Trends in the financial market have been extremely unpredictable. The banality and creativity of marketing strategies and management have heralded in new approaches to leadership in business management. A global culture and an open market have led to shrinkage in the available market. This is because of the increase in business competition and rivalry. Today, an investor must be innovative and full of gusto before they kick start any business entity. There is a need for companies to invest in proper marketing strategies through sound business plans. Steve Millar is charged with the responsibility of building and shaping BRL Hardy International limited into the world’s truly global international company.
The contemporary market has witnessed unprecedented changes in how people interact and relate. Whether in business or other interactive approaches, the world today is a global village. In the past, the location of an industry would guarantee such an industry a sustainable competitive advantage over its rivals. This advantage has been wiped away by the advances in science and technology. Today, companies can access raw materials, transportation facilities and even markets more easily than in the past. It is in this veil that no industry stands to gain meaningful comparative advantage over rival companies just because of the location of the industry. At the moment, establishing a sustainable marketing advantage is one of the issues that business investors are grappling with in their respective companies. These diverse abilities and capacities were not lost to Steve Millar as he rolled out the key pillars that would guide BRL Hardy into a multinational company. Millar appreciated the critical role and the divergent nature of the business landscape in different parts of the world. In light of this statement, he established decentralized positions of leadership. This allowed for the addresses of the unique challenges that afflict a certain locality. Equally important is dynamism of business. In certain localities, the demand for different products would also influence the commercial transactions. In my view, the establishment of decentralization initiatives allowed the company to meet the local needs of the people. The company, despite being a multinational, could easily be associated with the locals. Localization of the business product is the most important strategy in international business. The decentralization of leadership allowed for devolved management of the company affairs to guarantee responsive management of the company.
Steve Millar understood the role of localized markets in increasing the fortunes of the company. The United Kingdom is paramount to the continuity of the BRL Hardy wine company. The United Kingdom was importing more than two thirds of wine from Australia. I would recommend the use of local marketing in global strategy because the success of any company is pegged on its ability to meet the demands and expectations of the consumer. Millar has put the consumer in consideration by choosing to decentralize leadership and aggressively explore ways in which the demands and expectation. Steve Millar came up with an aggressive and commercial approach towards making the BRL Hardy a successful international company.
A sound business plan must explore both weaknesses and strengths of the company before coming up with the available opportunities and obstacles in helping the company progress. The strategy that Steve Millar came up with constituted an outline of how the business entity plans to overcome the existing challenges such as financial difficulties and issues that may limit the progress of the company. The starting point is the understanding of the background of a certain business entity and how the company plans to challenge rivals and exploit the available opportunities. I feel that Steve Millar has good capabilities in their marketing strategies. These strategies helped the organization improve. I will further explore the effects of technology on the marketing strategy that was developed by Starbucks from a marketing perspective. Despite there being no established company that was selling wines, Steve Millar takes the risk of branding the wine that his company was producing. He asserts the control of Reynellas by ensuring that Carson reports to him directly. This strategy served to preserve the decentralization nature of management, but at the same time assert the role of the company’s administration.
The company established the evolving strategy. Every company requires a marketing strategy to help drive the company to another level. No company can be successful in the current business landscape without a marketing strategy that puts the company in a position to remain afloat. A marketing strategy encompasses a process that is developed to help any company or organization to channel all its resources and assets in a manner that optimizes business returns and opportunities. Through the use of a marketing strategy, an organization can concentrate its resources on the limited business chances to make the sales as high as possible despite an unpredictable market. This consists of goals and plans to sustain a suitable competitive advantage to keep the company afloat. A marketing strategy must constitute all the short term as well as long term activities carried out in marketing. Companies use marketing strategies to analyze and explore the position of the company in business.
Background information about the Steve Millar’s BLR Hardy International Company Limited is crucial in understanding and identifying the correct skills and procedures to be utilized in marketing. There is a need to carry out a situational analysis before formulating, evaluating and selecting a marketing plan. A marketing plan must be oriented towards the market expectations and should suit the existing conditions and challenges in the market. Marketing strategies cannot be of value if they do not meet the targets and marketing objectives of the company. Any company must be reactive to the changing market trends and expectations. Therefore, a marketing strategy of Starbucks must capture the current market trends, business rivalry and challenges in their salience, timelessness and depict the direction that the company intends to take in order to achieve its goals and objectives. A marketing strategy must offer a company a competitive advantage over its rival company to help the company remain afloat.
Steve Millar is in a challenging position in terms on the market. The company is rolling out in an industry as a new comer. Therefore, Millar needs to dislodge other market leaders before cutting its own niche in the business market. There is a huge presence of customers in other parts of the world. These areas are untapped in terms of exploiting their business capacities. This has been made possible through the global village scenario. Today, many companies have utilized online marketing strategies and initiatives to reach more customers across the globe than other companies. This has yielded incredible results for many companies. There is a need to capitalize on the available online customers to supplement the customers that can access services from Starbucks through its many locations.
In a nutshell, the approach that Steve Millar chose is the best based on the frameworks and theories concerning the international business strategies. The paradigm shift from companies depending on location to assert a sustainable competitive advantage underlines the need for quality products before penetrating the knowledge market of today.
2. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of the Australian Wine Cluster as a home base of supporting the international expansion of BRL Hardy in the 1990s. Which module concepts and frameworks have you seen most helpful in your analysis?
In the contemporary world, technological advancements in communication have made the interaction between suppliers and potential suppliers an interesting prospect. The fact that BRL Hardy International Limited is in its formative stages indicates that there is a need to use cheap yet effective techniques to access more customers than before. The company may not have sufficient stores and a strong economic base to reach out to most of the customers. The use of online services will not only enable the company to reach out to many customers, but will also enable the company to save a lot of money that could be used in establishing company stores. The Australian Wine Cluster remains paramount in helping companies reach out to more customers than before. This is crucial for companies that intend to expand its customer base to encompass many customers in helping the company grow. This aspect of marketing by BRL Hardy Company is a wonderful marketing strategy. The biggest advantage of the Australian Wine Cluster is the ability of the companies to complement each other during business transactions.
According to, clusters in business entail geographical concentrations of interlinked companies and institutions within a certain location. A cluster in business would therefore entail companies that can complement each other in terms of the business or production that these companies or institutions are engaged in. At the moment, argues that the enduring competitive advantage that would be derived from being close to a company is no longer relevant because of the expansive transport and communication network systems that have been put in place. The global village scenario that is being witnessed all but sweeps away proximity to the sources of raw material as a source of competitive advantage. However, the paradox of the global economy is that a sustainable competitive advantage is still etched in the local factors such as the knowledge of the business landscape, relationship with consumers and even motivation. These key pillars of global economy can only be best utilized by local partners. It is in regard to this concept that the Australian Wine Cluster comes into perspective as a home base of supporting the international expansion of BRL Hardy in the 1990s.
The business landscape is extremely dynamic. An industry such as wine is one of the most delicate areas of investment. This is because vineyards, like many agricultural products, are liable to disease, bad weather or even a drastic alteration in the supply of the raw materials for the industries. Dwindling supplies due to any cause can be extremely frustrating for companies that are establishing themselves such as BRL Hardy International. Therefore, clusters in business create a comfort zone that insulates a certain company from tough economic times. The complementarity of these clusters, coupled with a strong will is one of the key pillars of the cluster system.
Australian Wine clusters are paramount in boosting the economic capabilities of the individual company. This is because they offer an avenue in which individual companies and industries within the cluster can compete in productivity. There are companies that want to assert superiority. As companies attempt to outdo each other, there is also increased productivity among individual companies. This warrants extensive productivity and hard work among individual companies.
Economies of cluster allow for innovativeness and creativity among member companies. This is because in a set up that involves different companies that are working together, the interaction between different experts is a rich ground for innovativeness. The human resource can develop each other through frequent interaction with people from different fields and capacities. This makes clustered economies fertile grounds for innovative ideas and integrated management systems. The missing links in the production circles can be easily pieced together. For any organization to obtain a sustainable competitive advantage over its rivals, the company must be structured along meeting the needs and the expectations of consumers. Economies of cluster also offer an opportunity to change the nature of the dialogue between the public and private sectors. This acted as a basis from which BRL Hardy could thrive on to challenge new markets. For an international company to grow, there is a need for utilizing the building blocks of the home market. The ready market in Australia provided the impetus for the company to grow into new markets.
Australian Wine Clusters provided a financial base for the company to build on as it explores new markets. However, cluster business also has its own disadvantages. In a cluster system, the industries are intertwined. One industry is dependent on another industry for it to be successful. If one industry collapses, the rest of the industries will follow suit. Only industries that have prudent management can survive a management crisis that may arise from the inadequacies of other companies. In the ultimate, mismanagement in one of the constituents of the business cluster or an unfavorable business landscape can lead to the failure of another company within the cluster.
At the moment, there are raging wars in the business sector. Every company wants to grab the available business opportunity as soon as it is available to them. This will enable companies achieve a competitive advantage that is sustainable for the company over their rivals in business. The onus is on business planners and people who come up with marketing strategies to address these inadequacies without hurting the advances of the company. The Australian Wine clusters put the industry liable to the possibility of failing as a result of rivalry between the complementary companies. Companies are likely to lose their competitive advantage if they stick together and yet some of the constituent companies are not doing enough to build on the strengths of the cluster.
Establishing a sustainable competitive advantage remains the biggest challenge of any marketing strategy and marketing plan. This is because the company has to operate within certain limits of budgetary plans and yet pay attention to offers and cost of products that come from the rival company. A marketing strategy and plan has to address these issues explicitly and outline the path that the company should take in order to achieve this. The company has to displace other competing firms and products on the market whose financial capabilities and tactical prowess is not known to the company.
The approaches that are used by a company to obtain a competitive advantage over its rivals are determined by the scope of the activities that a certain business engages in at a certain period of time. This is further classified into broad or narrow scope of activities based on the extent to which the products of a certain business entity can be differentiated. These strategies are classified as cost leadership and differentiation leadership which form part of the broad scope of business products. The source of competitive advantage over rivals in marketing will be cost and differentiation respectively. On the other hand, the narrow scope of business products will be the cost focus and differentiation focus respectively. The broad range focus in marketing is made up of industry segments. On the other hand, the differentiation focus and cost focus utilize strategies that are channeled towards a narrow range of market or industry. For BRL Hardy Company, there is a need for both strategies to be included in the business plan.
3. Identify and appraise the strategy developed by Christopher Carson to build and sustain BRL Hardy's competitive advantage in the European wine market in 1995-1998. In what ways has Carson leveraged the parent company's distinctive strengths, and how far should he develop distinctive regional competences and capabilities within the European unit for the future?
Christopher Carson made an immense contribution towards developing BRL Hardy and establishing it in the European market. When Steve Millar allowed for decentralization of leadership, Carson found an opportunity to build BRL Hardy and establish it in the European market. At the time, the wine market in the United Kingdom was contributing to about two thirds of the total wine exports from Australia. This showed that there was a need to tap on this immense potential that the market in Europe held. This is part of the wide scheme of making BRL Hardy company a genuine international company across the world in the wine industry. Carson gets all the credit for making Hardy the top selling wine brand in the United Kingdom. He had also presided over an unprecedented increase of about ten fold in the wine industry. In 1991, Hardy was only second to Gallo among all the wine brands sold in the Britain’s off trade (retailers that did not include restaurants and hotels). This is enough testimony to Christopher Carson’s ability to establish a sustainable competitive advantage.
Christopher Carson understood the market trends in Europe. He made the company acceptable to the locals through the use of localizing the product. The embers of scientific and technological advancements have characterized the recent changes in the business landscape. These scientific and technological advancements have necessitated adaptive strategies in order to be in tandem with the ever evolving global village scenario. The business market today entails diverse people and hence makes it necessary for potential investors to meet the varied expectations of the consumers. International business is the most liable to these changes. Therefore, a winning international business strategy must be anchored on environmental analysis and adaptive strategies deployed with agility to an ever changing market place. This versatility is a prerequisite for any international business to remain afloat by adapting to the diverse social, economic and even political environments across the globe. Carson ensured that the business strategy was founded on the unique capacities of the local market. Carson utilized localization strategies such as joint ventures with companies in Italy so that consumers could easily identify with the product. Joint ventures with local companies would benefit the company immensely since people could easily identify with brands that are already associated with other brands in their locality. An example of this joint venture was collaboration with a Sicilian Winery in the manufacture of Italian wine. By Christopher Carson committing himself to the launch of D’ istinto, he positioned his company strategically to exploit a ready Italian market. Branding is one of the intangible resources that are crucial in obtaining a competitive advantage. Even if a company has an international brand, there is a need to associate the local markets with the a brand that they can identify with easily. These joint ventures are the most critical pillars that BRL Hardy Company thrives on in the business.
An international business strategy encompasses the plans and arrangements that act as guiding principles and regulations that a business entity follows in all its commercial transactions. This strategy is pegged on the unique market trends in different countries. Christopher Carson created a new brand, “Kelly’s Revenge” in order to take advantage of the market opportunities in the United Kingdom. The competitive advantage that Carson sought was hinged on branding. The establishment of Kelly’s Revenge as a new brand specifically addressed the desires and the expectations of the local market trends. The main objective of international business strategies is to increase the profit margins of the international company. In today’s diverse market trends and unique cultures, there is a genuine need to make goods that meet the expectations of the consumers. Despite the desire of the Australian management to roll out Ban rock Station as an international brand, Carson stuck to the original plan of rolling out Kelly’s Revenge since it was the most acceptable and responsive to local market. Today, consumers are exposed to diverse products on a daily basis. Therefore, for a company to be valuable to the consumer, it must be responsive to the ever evolving needs and expectations of the market. Carson understood the market trends well enough to develop brads that are specific to the market in the United Kingdom. This offered BRL Hardy a sustainable competitive advantage over its rivals in the wine industry. In the contemporary society, the knowledge economy puts extra pressure on the producers to offer the clients value for their money. The market place is extremely unpredictable making it necessary for companies to develop a strong financial base and strategy which offers the company a sustainable competitive advantage over their business rivals on the narrow market. Without these capacities, business enterprises cannot remain afloat.
Christopher Carson utilized consolidation and rationalization plans to help boost the chances of asserting leadership in the wine industry. He partnered with small companies to help roll out large scale wine manufacturing ventures. This ranged from Mapocho, a Chilean wine industry to other companies that are specific to different localities. In international business, there are new markets that are always being opened up especially in the developing countries. Most of the international companies have no idea on the nature of the market in these new areas of exploration. Before exploring such markets, Christopher Carson developed a plan to guide commercial transactions and also assess the nature of the business market. When he suspected that the company in the United Kingdom was on the verge of failure, Christopher Carson established cost cutting measures in order to cut expenditures. This was a wise decision in helping the company avoid an impeding financial crisis. Markets in the developing countries are extremely dynamics hence the need for the deployment of an adaptive strategy that can help the company remain viable. Christopher Carson employed varied strategies to ensure that the company could easily identify with the locals despite its foreign based setting. The company obtained a sustainable competitive advantage through ensuring that the company could easily identify with the local population .
The contribution of Christopher Carson to the development of a distinct brand of wine to meet the expectations of the local market in the United Kingdom is immense. However, he is faced with the dilemma from the BRL Hardy management in Australia. The extent of developing distinctive regional competences and capabilities within the European unit is one of the key areas in helping BRL Hardy forge its identity and brands in Europe. Carson should limit future prospects on the brand that the parent market wants to market globally. This is because forging very distinct regional competences and capabilities in the European unit can usurp the powers of the parent company management in the European market. The interests and wishes of the parent company are paramount in supporting any future prospects and expansion plans. Even though Christopher Carson is in a position to make distinct brands that exploit the most of the opportunities available in Europe, he must also respect the plans of the mother organization. Therefore, the competences and capabilities in the European unit must be a hybrid of the core competences and capabilities of BRL Hardy amalgamated with the creative and market oriented ideas of Christopher Carson. This will be helpful in helping BRL Hardy continue with its plans to become one of the world’s first truly global wine companies, according to Steve Millar’s approach and strategic plans through allowing local responsiveness, but retaining a global outlook.
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