Coppersea: Emergence of the Microdistillery Movement 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 Coppersea: Emergence of the Microdistillery Movement case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. Coppersea: Emergence of the Microdistillery Movement case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Glenn Carroll, Davina Drabkin. The Coppersea: Emergence of the Microdistillery Movement (referred as “Coppersea Microdistillery” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Sales & Marketing. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Leadership, Manufacturing, Marketing.

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

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Case Description of Coppersea: Emergence of the Microdistillery Movement Case Study

By the spring of 2013, Michael Kinstlick and Angus MacDonald had been running a microdistillery for less than a year. Coppersea, located in New York's Hudson Valley, produced handcrafted spirits using a unique process based on techniques little-used over the past 300 years. The founders had coined the term Heritage-Methods distilling to describe their process. Although Coppersea was still working to develop a stable and consistent production process, it was already receiving attention for the fruits of its experimental runs. Jack Daniels (no relation to Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey), CEO of Wilson Daniels, a family-owned sales and marketing company, had contacted Kinstlick about a possible distribution partnership. This case covers the emergence of the microdistillery movement and, specifically, the founding of Coppersea, its handcrafted approach to spirits, and its focus on authenticity. While a partnership with Wilson Daniels appeared to offer a solution to the extremely complex world of alcohol distribution in the United States, the case considers whether Coppersea was truly able to shift priorities and make the commitments that a partnership would require. It also raises questions as to whether such a distribution agreement would affect the appeal of authenticity.

Case Authors : Glenn Carroll, Davina Drabkin

Topic : Sales & Marketing

Related Areas : Leadership, Manufacturing, Marketing

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for Coppersea: Emergence of the Microdistillery Movement Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10020022)	-10020022	-	-
Year 1	3461914	-6558108	3461914	0.9434	3265957
Year 2	3960557	-2597551	7422471	0.89	3524882
Year 3	3967134	1369583	11389605	0.8396	3330882
Year 4	3235155	4604738	14624760	0.7921	2562546
TOTAL			14624760		12684266

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2664244

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.

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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. Payback Period
4. Internal Rate of Return

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

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Formula and Steps to Calculate Net Present Value (NPV) of Coppersea: Emergence of the Microdistillery Movement

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 Coppersea Microdistillery 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 Coppersea Microdistillery 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	(10020022)	-10020022	-	-
Year 1	3461914	-6558108	3461914	0.8696	3010360
Year 2	3960557	-2597551	7422471	0.7561	2994750
Year 3	3967134	1369583	11389605	0.6575	2608455
Year 4	3235155	4604738	14624760	0.5718	1849710
TOTAL					10463275

The Net NPV after 4 years is 443253

(10463275 - 10020022 )

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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	(10020022)	-10020022	-	-
Year 1	3461914	-6558108	3461914	0.8333	2884928
Year 2	3960557	-2597551	7422471	0.6944	2750387
Year 3	3967134	1369583	11389605	0.5787	2295795
Year 4	3235155	4604738	14624760	0.4823	1560163
TOTAL					9491274

The Net NPV after 4 years is -528748

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9491274 - 10020022 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Coppersea Microdistillery 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 Coppersea Microdistillery has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Coppersea Microdistillery 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 Coppersea Microdistillery, then the stock price of the Coppersea Microdistillery 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 Coppersea Microdistillery 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 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 can impact the cash flow of the project.

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

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.

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Negotiation Strategy of Coppersea: Emergence of the Microdistillery Movement

References & Further Readings

Glenn Carroll, Davina Drabkin (2018), "Coppersea: Emergence of the Microdistillery Movement Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.