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ArArAt Brandy: Transforming a Legend into a Modern Icon Net Present Value (NPV) / MBA Resources

Introduction to Net Present Value (NPV) - What is Net Present Value (NPV) ? How it impacts financial decisions regarding project management?

NPV solution for ArArAt Brandy: Transforming a Legend into a Modern Icon case study


At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. ArArAt Brandy: Transforming a Legend into a Modern Icon case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Amitava Chattopadhyay, Vadim Grigorian. The ArArAt Brandy: Transforming a Legend into a Modern Icon (referred as “Ararat Brandy” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Sales & Marketing. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Emerging markets.

The net present value (NPV) of an investment proposal is the present value of the proposal’s net cash flows less the proposal’s initial cash outflow. If a project’s NPV is greater than or equal to zero, the project should be accepted.

NPV = Present Value of Future Cash Flows LESS Project’s Initial Investment






Case Description of ArArAt Brandy: Transforming a Legend into a Modern Icon Case Study


Ararat, the largest brand of brandy in Russia, with an enviable 32% market share and a long history, is one of the jewels in Pernod Ricard Russia's alcoholic beverage portfolio. After a recent product update, five key questions need to be answered: 1. Which consumer segment(s) should Ararat be targeted at? 2. What should be the brand platform? 3. Which of five proposed advertising options should be selected? 4. Should all seven sub-brands in the Ararat portfolio feature in the campaign, and if not, which ones? 5. In which magazines should the ads be placed?


Case Authors : Amitava Chattopadhyay, Vadim Grigorian

Topic : Sales & Marketing

Related Areas : Emerging markets




Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for ArArAt Brandy: Transforming a Legend into a Modern Icon Case Study


Years              Cash Flow     Net Cash Flow     Cumulative    
Cash Flow
Discount Rate
@ 6 %
Discounted
Cash Flows
Year 0 (10028881) -10028881 - -
Year 1 3456146 -6572735 3456146 0.9434 3260515
Year 2 3964457 -2608278 7420603 0.89 3528353
Year 3 3970921 1362643 11391524 0.8396 3334062
Year 4 3237057 4599700 14628581 0.7921 2564052
TOTAL 14628581 12686982




The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2658101

In isolation the NPV number doesn't mean much but put in right context then it is one of the best method to evaluate project returns. In this article we will cover -

Different methods of capital budgeting


What is NPV & Formula of NPV,
How it is calculated,
How to use NPV number for project evaluation, and
Scenario Planning given risks and management priorities.




Capital Budgeting Approaches

Methods of Capital Budgeting


There are four types of capital budgeting techniques that are widely used in the corporate world –

1. Net Present Value
2. Profitability Index
3. Internal Rate of Return
4. Payback Period

Apart from the Payback period method which is an additive method, rest of the methods are based on Discounted Cash Flow technique. Even though cash flow can be calculated based on the nature of the project, for the simplicity of the article we are assuming that all the expected cash flows are realized at the end of the year.

Discounted Cash Flow approaches provide a more objective basis for evaluating and selecting investment projects. They take into consideration both –

1. Magnitude of both incoming and outgoing cash flows – Projects can be capital intensive, time intensive, or both. Ararat Brandy shareholders have preference for diversified projects investment rather than prospective high income from a single capital intensive project.
2. Timing of the expected cash flows – stockholders of Ararat Brandy have higher preference for cash returns over 4-5 years rather than 10-15 years given the nature of the volatility in the industry.






Formula and Steps to Calculate Net Present Value (NPV) of ArArAt Brandy: Transforming a Legend into a Modern Icon

NPV = Net Cash In Flowt1 / (1+r)t1 + Net Cash In Flowt2 / (1+r)t2 + … Net Cash In Flowtn / (1+r)tn
Less Net Cash Out Flowt0 / (1+r)t0

Where t = time period, in this case year 1, year 2 and so on.
r = discount rate or return that could be earned using other safe proposition such as fixed deposit or treasury bond rate. Net Cash In Flow – What the firm will get each year.
Net Cash Out Flow – What the firm needs to invest initially in the project.

Step 1 – Understand the nature of the project and calculate cash flow for each year.
Step 2 – Discount those cash flow based on the discount rate.
Step 3 – Add all the discounted cash flow.
Step 4 – Selection of the project

Why Sales & Marketing Managers need to know Financial Tools such as Net Present Value (NPV)?

In our daily workplace we often come across people and colleagues who are just focused on their core competency and targets they have to deliver. For example marketing managers at Ararat Brandy often design programs whose objective is to drive brand awareness and customer reach. But how that 30 point increase in brand awareness or 10 point increase in customer touch points will result into shareholders’ value is not specified.

To overcome such scenarios managers at Ararat Brandy needs to not only know the financial aspect of project management but also needs to have tools to integrate them into part of the project development and monitoring plan.

Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 15%

After working through various assumptions we reached a conclusion that risk is far higher than 6%. In a reasonably stable industry with weak competition - 15% discount rate can be a good benchmark.



Years              Cash Flow     Net Cash Flow     Cumulative    
Cash Flow
Discount Rate
@ 15 %
Discounted
Cash Flows
Year 0 (10028881) -10028881 - -
Year 1 3456146 -6572735 3456146 0.8696 3005344
Year 2 3964457 -2608278 7420603 0.7561 2997699
Year 3 3970921 1362643 11391524 0.6575 2610945
Year 4 3237057 4599700 14628581 0.5718 1850798
TOTAL 10464786


The Net NPV after 4 years is 435905

(10464786 - 10028881 )








Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 20%


If the risk component is high in the industry then we should go for a higher hurdle rate / discount rate of 20%.

Years              Cash Flow     Net Cash Flow     Cumulative    
Cash Flow
Discount Rate
@ 20 %
Discounted
Cash Flows
Year 0 (10028881) -10028881 - -
Year 1 3456146 -6572735 3456146 0.8333 2880122
Year 2 3964457 -2608278 7420603 0.6944 2753095
Year 3 3970921 1362643 11391524 0.5787 2297987
Year 4 3237057 4599700 14628581 0.4823 1561081
TOTAL 9492284


The Net NPV after 4 years is -536597

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9492284 - 10028881 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Ararat Brandy to discount cash flow at lower discount rates such as 15%.





Acceptance Criteria of a Project based on NPV

Simplest Approach – If the investment project of Ararat Brandy has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Ararat Brandy can ACCEPT the project, otherwise they can reject the project. This means that project will deliver higher returns over the period of time than any alternate investment strategy.

In theory if the required rate of return or discount rate is chosen correctly by finance managers at Ararat Brandy, then the stock price of the Ararat Brandy should change by same amount of the NPV. In real world we know that share price also reflects various other factors that can be related to both macro and micro environment.

In the same vein – accepting the project with zero NPV should result in stagnant share price. Finance managers use discount rates as a measure of risk components in the project execution process.

Sensitivity Analysis

Project selection is often a far more complex decision than just choosing it based on the NPV number. Finance managers at Ararat Brandy should conduct a sensitivity analysis to better understand not only the inherent risk of the projects but also how those risks can be either factored in or mitigated during the project execution. Sensitivity analysis helps in –

What will be a multi year spillover effect of various taxation regulations.

What can impact the cash flow of the project.

What are the uncertainties surrounding the project Initial Cash Outlay (ICO’s). ICO’s often have several different components such as land, machinery, building, and other equipment.

Understanding of risks involved in the project.

What are the key aspects of the projects that need to be monitored, refined, and retuned for continuous delivery of projected cash flows.

Some of the assumptions while using the Discounted Cash Flow Methods –

Projects are assumed to be Mutually Exclusive – This is seldom the came in modern day giant organizations where projects are often inter-related and rejecting a project solely based on NPV can result in sunk cost from a related project.

Independent projects have independent cash flows – As explained in the marketing project – though the project may look independent but in reality it is not as the brand awareness project can be closely associated with the spending on sales promotions and product specific advertising.






Negotiation Strategy of ArArAt Brandy: Transforming a Legend into a Modern Icon

References & Further Readings

Amitava Chattopadhyay, Vadim Grigorian (2018), "ArArAt Brandy: Transforming a Legend into a Modern Icon Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.


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