Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007 SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007
The case examines a competitive situation in the market for Scotch whisky in Thailand. Two multinationals fight for market share with a complex portfolio of products under the Chivas Regal, Johnnie Walker, and Ballantine brand names. Students must understand a broad array of branding, consumer behavior, pricing, and regulatory issues in order to arrive at recommendations for Chivas Regal to defend against recent gains of Johnnie Walker. The case can be taught with a focus on the Chivas Regal 12 Year product and recommendations for its growth, but also can be taught as a broader portfolio case, with students aligning a portfolio of Chivas and Ballantine products at different quality levels to maximize sales and profit.
Swot Analysis of "Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007" written by Julie Hennessy, Rebecca Frazzano, Evan Meagher includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Chivas Regal facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007 case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Pricing and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007 casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is increasing trade war between United States & China, wage bills are increasing, increasing commodity prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, technology disruption,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007 case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Chivas Regal, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Chivas Regal operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007 can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007 case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Chivas Regal
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Sales & Marketing field.
4. Making a Sales & Marketing topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Chivas Regal
Strengths Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Chivas Regal in Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007 Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Chivas Regal is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007 are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Learning organization
- Chivas Regal is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Chivas Regal is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007 Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Training and development
– Chivas Regal has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007 Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Strong track record of project management
– Chivas Regal is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Chivas Regal has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Chivas Regal has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007 - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Analytics focus
– Chivas Regal is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Julie Hennessy, Rebecca Frazzano, Evan Meagher can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Chivas Regal digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Chivas Regal has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Chivas Regal in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High brand equity
– Chivas Regal has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Chivas Regal to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Organizational Resilience of Chivas Regal
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Chivas Regal does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Chivas Regal has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007 HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007 are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007, in the dynamic environment Chivas Regal has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Chivas Regal has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007 HBR case study mentions - Chivas Regal takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Chivas Regal has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Julie Hennessy, Rebecca Frazzano, Evan Meagher suggests that, Chivas Regal is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Chivas Regal, firm in the HBR case study Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007 needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Lack of clear differentiation of Chivas Regal products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Chivas Regal needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007 HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Chivas Regal has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007 has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Chivas Regal 's lucrative customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Chivas Regal has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Need for greater diversity
– Chivas Regal has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007 that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007 can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Chivas Regal is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007 | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007 are -
Manufacturing automation
– Chivas Regal can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Sales & Marketing segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Chivas Regal to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Buying journey improvements
– Chivas Regal can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007 suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Chivas Regal can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Chivas Regal in the consumer business. Now Chivas Regal can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Loyalty marketing
– Chivas Regal has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Chivas Regal is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007 case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Chivas Regal has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Chivas Regal to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007 case study. Chivas Regal can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Chivas Regal to increase its market reach. Chivas Regal will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Chivas Regal can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Chivas Regal operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Chivas Regal can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Chivas Regal has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007 - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Chivas Regal to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Chivas Regal to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Threats Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007 External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007 are -
Increasing wage structure of Chivas Regal
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Chivas Regal.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Chivas Regal can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Chivas Regal is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Chivas Regal in the Sales & Marketing industry. The Sales & Marketing industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Chivas Regal has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Chivas Regal needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Sales & Marketing sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Environmental challenges
– Chivas Regal needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Chivas Regal can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Chivas Regal needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Chivas Regal high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Chivas Regal.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Chivas Regal in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Chivas Regal demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Chivas Regal will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Chivas Regal with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007 Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007 needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007 is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007 is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007 is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Chivas Regal needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.