Globalizing an Australian Wine Company Essay

The companys strategic vision is to become the worlds first authentically global wine company. As CEO and managing director of BRL Hardy Europe, Carsons contribution and achievements had been significant with a 10 fold increase in gross revenue volume, in a tenure spanning just seven years. He successfully turned around Hardys U. K. melodic line by implementing cost b are initiatives and ensuring strong systems, policies, and control.Millar, CEO and managing director at BRL Hardy followed a decentralized approach to attention. He believed in delegation and adequately integrated culture and management style into the merged corporation. The U. K. market contributed significantly to BRL Hardys revenues and represented 40% of Australian wine exports. In U. K. , the fighting brands, namely, Stamps and Nottage Hill, were positioned at price points of 2. 99 and 3. 69 pounds respectively. As low price good quality wines, they accounted for 80% of the value and volume of the Hardy brand s ales.As the image of these brands began to erode, Carson unflinching to relaunch them by relabeling and repositioning the wines. Carson insisted that sales performance in U. K. depended on efficient labeling that should not be completely dictated by the Australian management. Although management was skeptical almost local control over branding, labeling, and pricing decisions, the move significantly boosted the fighting brands sales. As the fighting brands gradually moved up the price points, there was an chance for an entry level wine that could be priced lower than 4. 9 pounds. In line with the companys vision of becoming an international wine company, Carson decided to tap non-Australian wine sources and soften a line of branded products that could utilize the companys strong distribution channels. This dodging would provide vital scale leaf economies, minimize harvest risk, capture rationalizing suppliers, and avoid currency-driven price variations. Carson proposed the bra nd Distinto, an Italian menace with a Sicilian based winery.He wanted to develop a recognizable brand which was easy to buy and had global potence. The wine would be positioned to the average wine consumer and would help the company leverage distribution. The Australian military headquarters believed that Distinto would eat into the fighting brands share as they were positioned at almost similar price points. Carsons earlier Chilean venture, Mapocho had proven troublesome and Millar was perplexing if the European unit could support another brand. While Millar recognized U. K. s strong performance and wanted to give Carson as much freedom as possible, the reality was that the Italian venture would stretch the tight human resources of the European unit and dilute focus from the overall corporate strategy. While the Italian venture was being proposed, the Australian headquarters had launched Banrock Station, an environmentally responsible product at a similar price point. Australian management believed that the brand had global potential and had instructed areas to launch it appropriately.Miller, away from the frontline and external demands of the local customers, has to support Carsons entrepreneurial experimentation and dynamism. However, the proposal to launch Distinto should not be approved. It is imperative that the business strategy fit within the broader corporate strategy of the organization. Although Carsons proposal represented strategic interests, it ran counter the corporate strategy of maximizing global efficiency. Distintos launch would certainly come with financial implications and would also stretch the operating capabilities of the European unit.On the other hand, Banrock Station had already established itself in a few markets and a strong launch in Europe would only increase scale economies. Distinto had an innovative strategy with catchy and glossy labeling and a distinct image capturing the Mediterranean lifestyle. This positioning would d efinitely appeal to the mature U. K. consumer and also to the U. K. retailers, who represented the majority of sales. However, there is no certainty that this strategy would prove equally successful globally.While Distinto would provide short term results, it is important to understand the long term viability that Banrock Station offers. Global consumers are increasingly emerging into environmentally conscious populations that expect corporations to take responsibility of natural resources and the environment. Although through Distinto, Carson aims to build a global brand, Banrock Station appears to be better positioned in a converging global market. In order to build a true global brand, Miller must establish physical structure across organizational units and ensure that the vision is shared by all.