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, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing commodity prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing energy prices,
technology disruption, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, 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 -
Diverse revenue streams
– Chivas Regal is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007 case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
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.
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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Chivas Regal has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Chivas Regal has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
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.
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.
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.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Chivas Regal is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Chivas Regal in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 -
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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Chivas Regal has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007 should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Chivas Regal has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
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.
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.
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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007, it seems that the employees of Chivas Regal don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Chivas Regal has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Chivas Regal is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007 can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Chivas Regal has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Chivas Regal even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
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 -
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.
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.
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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Chivas Regal can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Sales & Marketing industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Chivas Regal can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Chivas Regal to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Chivas Regal to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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.
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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Chivas Regal can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
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.
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.
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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Chivas Regal in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Sales & Marketing segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
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 -
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.
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.
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.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007, Chivas Regal may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Sales & Marketing .
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.
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.
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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Sales & Marketing field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Chivas Regal can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Chivas Regal can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whiskey War of 2007 .
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Chivas Regal business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.