Roger Caracappa: Package Deals for the Estee Lauder Companies 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 Roger Caracappa: Package Deals for the Estee Lauder Companies case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. Roger Caracappa: Package Deals for the Estee Lauder Companies case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by James K. Sebenius. The Roger Caracappa: Package Deals for the Estee Lauder Companies (referred as “Caracappa Packaging” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Strategy & Execution. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Joint ventures, Negotiations, Supply chain.

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 Roger Caracappa: Package Deals for the Estee Lauder Companies Case Study

Roger Caracappa must negotiate a cost-saving, innovative proposal from a potential French supplier that could displace otherwise satisfactory, long-time incumbent supplier. Shortly after being promoted to Executive Vice President of the Estee Lauder Companies with global packaging as a key responsibility, Caracappa had to assess a recent proposal he had received form a small French company that had patented a packaging innovation. The innovation could save the Estee Lauder Companies some $4-5 million per year if Caracappa championed it, negotiated a deal to use it, and if it were adopted by Lauder's key brands. If the new packaging functioned as promised, the consumer would not perceive any change in the high-quality, stylish packaging that was essential to the luxury image of the firm's brands. But if the new packaging caused production, delivery or quality problems, the supposed savings would be quickly forgotten and Caracappa would bear heavy responsibility both for the problems and for disrupting an otherwise satisfactory relationship with the long-time incumbent supplier.

Case Authors : James K. Sebenius

Topic : Strategy & Execution

Related Areas : Joint ventures, Negotiations, Supply chain

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for Roger Caracappa: Package Deals for the Estee Lauder Companies Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10000613)	-10000613	-	-
Year 1	3450402	-6550211	3450402	0.9434	3255096
Year 2	3968200	-2582011	7418602	0.89	3531684
Year 3	3940070	1358059	11358672	0.8396	3308159
Year 4	3228083	4586142	14586755	0.7921	2556944
TOTAL			14586755		12651883

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2651270

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. Payback Period
3. Profitability Index
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 Caracappa Packaging 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. Caracappa Packaging 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 Roger Caracappa: Package Deals for the Estee Lauder Companies

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 Strategy & Execution 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 Caracappa Packaging 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 Caracappa Packaging 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	(10000613)	-10000613	-	-
Year 1	3450402	-6550211	3450402	0.8696	3000350
Year 2	3968200	-2582011	7418602	0.7561	3000529
Year 3	3940070	1358059	11358672	0.6575	2590660
Year 4	3228083	4586142	14586755	0.5718	1845667
TOTAL					10437206

The Net NPV after 4 years is 436593

(10437206 - 10000613 )

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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	(10000613)	-10000613	-	-
Year 1	3450402	-6550211	3450402	0.8333	2875335
Year 2	3968200	-2582011	7418602	0.6944	2755694
Year 3	3940070	1358059	11358672	0.5787	2280133
Year 4	3228083	4586142	14586755	0.4823	1556753
TOTAL					9467916

The Net NPV after 4 years is -532697

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9467916 - 10000613 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Caracappa Packaging 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 Caracappa Packaging has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Caracappa Packaging 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 Caracappa Packaging, then the stock price of the Caracappa Packaging 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 Caracappa Packaging 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 key aspects of the projects that need to be monitored, refined, and retuned for continuous delivery of projected cash flows.

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.

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 Roger Caracappa: Package Deals for the Estee Lauder Companies

References & Further Readings

James K. Sebenius (2018), "Roger Caracappa: Package Deals for the Estee Lauder Companies Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.