Questions on Brown Forman's Takeover of Southern Comfort Corporation

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.

1. Why is Brown Forman considering buying Southern Comfort? In your answer consider the strategic motives of Brown and the arguments in favour of and against the acquisition.

The authors stated that, “Kraft Foods was the second largest food company in the world and the largest food company in the United States,” (Kerin & Peterson, 2010). A.1. Steak Sauce is a condiment “power house” in the Kraft portfolio that made incomparable profits for the company. Lawry’s, one of Kraft’s long-lasting competitors, endeavors to get a jump on the Holiday weekend (Memorial Day) at Publix to attain the ad and market their new product. Once notified, Kraft must lucidly make calculated decisions (SWOT analysis) as to how they will counteract Lawry’s new launch so they don’t

Change is necessary if organizations are to survive and thrive, and the sharp downturn in the economy is forcing leaders in all industries to take a fresh look at how they do business. Recently, most companies in the financial services industry faced with a need for dramatic change after mortgage crisis and the Wall Street meltdown. (Daft, 2011, p. 460)

With giants such as Walmart, and Kroger running the grocery store industry it’s difficult for companies such as Smuckers to bargain for shelf-space and prices. Brand name items drawn to the center of the store are what leverages these companies to succeed in the industry. After numerous acquisitions and strategic alliances, Smuckers developed a solid core of product lines which experienced success rapidly. Product lines that experienced the most success as a result of strong positioning in the industry included their Coffee labels, flour and baking products, Oils and food spreads. A 9-Cell Industry Attractiveness/Business Strength Matrix shows that the Industry attractiveness is relatively moderate. With many competitors and strong buyer power from large grocery chains such as Kroger, companies such as Smuckers have explored different strategies that have proved successful in what can be described as a saturated industry. The case insinuates that there may be opportunities in the industry in regards to special markets and perhaps Oils and Baking with sugar free products, but otherwise the recession, although it drove families to buy store bought as opposed to eating out, has had its effects on the food service industry as well.

* In Western Australia, Nestlé Peters as it is now called did not change its name until 2009. It had always remained simply, Peters Ice Cream and was owned by PB foods until they sold it in 2006 to Fonterra.

Halewood corporate objective in the market is to become a market leader in the soft drink manufacturing and distribution market. Dominating the market will enable the company to increase its turn over and compete adequately with other producers in the market. The company also aims to attract specialized workers to its organization to ensure that it provides quality and innovative products (Medway, Warnaby & Dharni, 2011). The company has recently introduced a new product in the market to increase its market share in the soft drink market. The product is a carbonated wine alternative aimed at attracting women in the soft drink sector of the market. The product will exist in three varieties to increase the product choice available to the customer. By ensuring that the company has a new product in the market, the company increases brand awareness in the market causing customers to migrate (Mcdonald, 2011).

To that end they have adopted a two prong approach beginning with renewed marketing approaches to increasing their market presence in the United States while growing the international business at a much more rapid pace. In addition they intend to increase their distribution centers across the globe while increasing their product lines. A recent business analysis pointed to the need for the latter as sales were showing signs of stagnation. Also, Brown-Forman is aggressively pursuing an online presence as another avenue for improving their bottom line.

The beverage industry is a growing and competitive industry. The industry ranges from alcohol to sodas to bottled water. While there are many companies on the market, for comparative purposes, this paper will discuss Constellation Brands and Coca-Cola Enterprise. Constellation Brands is an alcohol maker and distributor. It has over eighty-two different brands under its parent corporation (Our Brands). Coca-Cola Enterprise is a maker of sodas and bottled water with twenty-seven brands under its corporation (Brands).

Listed below you will find a quick analysis of the company using productivity, Liquidity and solvency ratios. This analysis is accompanied by vertical and horizontal analysis. These analysis gives anyone inquiring a good picture of the company’s overall performance. This analysis is also a good way to determine the company’s financial standings for the said years.

its profits. Also when a customer tends to see the same company products everywhere and that

In the Case study, Cooper Industries is trying to acquire Nicholson File Company. However, there are two other companies that are interested in Nicholson as well: VLN Corporation and H.K. Porter Company. In 1971, VLN together with Nicholson management constructed a deal that, however, didn’t get the support from the majority of common stockholders.

As the case stated, there existed a lot of problems in Distillers Delight in the United Kingdom in 2003. In addition, the strategy the company adopted affects the performance of the brand significantly.

The success the Snapple Beverage Company had achieved by the early 1990s drew the attention of the Quaker Oats Company which bought it in 1994 for $1.7 billion, and planned on maximizing the professedly unequivocal synergies between the “funky” iced tea brand and their established Gatorade brand. Despite Quaker’s efforts and ambition, which some might classify as hubris, the company’s decision to acquire Snapple is often regarded as a clamorous example of a merger and acquisition disaster. This paper analyzes Quaker’s failures using the 4 P’s framework, and proposes an action plan for Triarc’s turn-around of the Snapple brand, tailoring it to a modern market setting.

It is my belief that Coopers has a first-class corporate strategy that is very effective at making money. They have great portfolio management skills with obtaining and releasing companies that is best for the stockholders. This means there is little agency problem that occurs in the corporation. Coopers is also great at creating productive manufacturing companies with little worries about foreign competitors due to high-quality products, technologies and management teams in place to direct uncharted directions. The only recommendation of change I have is for the company to have a greater appreciation of people currently running the acquired businesses. Yes, Coopers obtained them in a rundown condition,