Mondavi’s Strategy, Success, Threats, and Risks Essay

Bonny Doon Vineyards, a successful winery business based in Santa Cruz, California, has grown from selling 5,000 cases of wine a year in 1981 to 200,000 cases a year in 1999. To keep growing and be more profitable, the business must choose amongst three possible strategic directions. The first strategy is to start importing wines from Europe into the United States. The second alternative is branching into a retail outlet for unusual wines of great value, accompanied by a high level of service. Lastly, the business’ D.E.W.N could be expanded to include wines not made by the company itself but by other wineries that follow the same values and philosophy.

The assignment for this week was to write a paper based on the case Global Wine War 2009: New World versus Old. We experienced that it was an interesting case considering both Porter’s five forces model and Resource-Based theory, because they give two different perspectives of competitive advantage: Outside in and Inside out. Besides that we could have a closer look at innovations and what they mean for the competitiveness in the world wine market. In this paper we make an effort in explaining what the main aspects

Its bread and butter products face severe competitions. Woodbridge, for example, contributes to 57% of Mondavi’s total revenue but the competitors such as Gallod or Beringers’ are trying to penetrate into the market with aggressive prices and new brandings. Also, the competitors are spending money for marketing and promotion activities in sophisticated ways while Mondavi revamped its marketing messages recently.

Due to the fact that consumers have a plethora of premium wines (substitutes) to choose from and there is no penalty for switching between brands consumer buying power is fairly high, making consumers sensitive to price increases. As previously mentioned, the competition for sourcing quality grape growers is high making switching costs high as well. In order to circumvent the dependency on outside growers, Mondavi is starting to increase its internal sourcing capabilities.

The dynamics of the global wine industry are better understood through a brief history of wine as well as an overview of the wine making process. Some countries have longer historical and cultural ties with wine then others and that can affect the quality and perception of the product in the eyes of the consumer. Also, the conditions in which the wine grapes are raised and the processes used to make the wine can create a superior wine and therefore a competitive advantage.

The buyer’s power within the wine industry varies between different places in the world. There are for example strategic differences between Europe and the “New World”. The “New World” includes countries like the US, Australia, Chile and South Africa. In Europe there is a big competition

The scope of the innovation expertise that New World wine producers have is value-chain wide in scope, and in-depth enough to completely re-order manufacturing, fermentation, distribution channel, pricing, marketing and customer service (Cholette, 2009). New World wine producers

Bonny Doon currently has an enviable position in the 1990’s Californian wine-producing industry. The company has successfully differentiated itself from its competition and achieved a first mover advantage in terms of selling “undervalued” wines. However, due to increased rivalry and a changing and increasingly challenging market,

Vincor does market wine alternatives itself, as a way of dealing with substitute demand. Vincor makes cider and has a wine kit business division (Spagnols) that gives Vincor some product diversification. Partly because of the ease of competition and as part of the differentiation and protection of the Canadian wine industry, Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA), a quality assurance program that identifies Canadian premium grape content, assists in making start-up more difficult for those wishing to emulate Canadian wine brands. The dollars spent on marketing and brand loyalty play a large part in protecting market share and there are certain absolute cost advantages that contribute to establishing some barriers to new competition. Ultimately, there is little cost to the consumer when considering switching brands. Experimentation in wine drinking is often a characteristic of the wine drinking market and thus can contribute to promoting new substitute entry into the market.

While bargaining power of buyers is ranked the least important of the five factors for Mondavi’s strategy, its importance should not be understated. One of the Wine is typically sold to wholesalers who then distribute to retail outlets. With the decreasing number of wholesalers and the consolidation of retailers, buyers negotiating power is increasing. It is difficult for companies like Mondavi to make consistent profits and maintain market share if they cannot keep products on retailers’ shelves.

As the marketing manager of Bonatelli Wines, I have been asked to prepare a marketing program to establish Bonatelli Wines in a South East Asian Market in which I believe offers the best opportunity for expansion. Working with my team of staff members Maria, who is responsible for advertising and promotions, Thomas, who manages liaison with the current US distributors, and Rob our freelance web designer we will execute a marketing program that manages to compliment the objective of Bonatelli Wines.

The acquisition of other wineries has made it possible for Mondavi to make strategic moves in their plans and strategies. The acquisition will bring together complementary wine assets, including vineyards, production facilities, and distribution capabilities that will strengthen Constellation 's portfolio and further build the Robert Mondavi brand. (6) Acquisitions and mergers are popular in the wine industry. Mondavi 's s long-term goal is to own 25 percent of its grape production.

Through heavily exporting to U.K and U.S, MontGras segmented and exposed to some of the top wine consumers in the world

Bieler, Kristen Wolfe (2006), “Behind the [ yellow tail ]® Phenomenon: How It Happened and What’s Next?” Beverage Media Group, February, pdf download.

Cooper’s Creek wine is a fine New Zealand export which is seeking to expand further into Asia. Three countries were chosen based on their markets, policies and importing needs for wine. The countries were analyzed based on various economic standpoints, current political situations and growth potential. The data collected has shown one country to lead the rest in major market segments as well as in advertising and distribution channels. Cooper’s Creek is to be imported to, distributed throughout and sold in South Korea.