STACK BREWING: A LITTLE BREWERY IN THE BIG NICKEL Case Solution And Analysis, HBR Case Study Solution & Analysis of Harvard Case Studies

STACK BREWING: A LITTLE BREWERY IN THE BIG NICKEL Case Solution

Problem/Opportunity

Stack Brewing Company is one of the main start-up brewing companies which had initiated its operations in the year 2011. The current production capacity of the company is about 5656 liters per month. These are produced in 12 batches each week with about 117 stock keeping units per each batch. The distribution monopoly of all the major brewers in the country is owned by Labatt Breweries of Canada and Molson Coors Canada Inc.

The owner of Stack Brewing Company, Shawn Mailloux, is not able to obtain a listing in this Beer store. On the other hand, the budget of the company for the communication is small and the number of the stores of the company is also low which does not meet the criteria for the listing. The company has the opportunity to avail a grant from the Northern Ontario heritage Fund Corporation worth an amount of $ 125,000.

This grant could be invested by the company to expand and grow the company and this is going to expand the production capacity of the company by about 500%. However, now the main issue lies in the formulation and creation of a communications plan, which is necessary to promote the increased brewing capacity of the company and also grow its brand in the market.

Majority of the grant would be utilized basically to achieve the desired sales growth for the company, however, the evaluation of the current distribution strategies and a significant marketing push would also be required. Shawn was excited and thrilled for this opportunity but now he had to determine the possible distribution and communication strategies through which the product could be better positioned and marketed in order to boost the sales of the company. This case analysis has been performed based upon quantitative and qualitative facts and analysis and finally a recommended course of action has been determined.

Recommendation

After evaluating each of the four alternative courses of action available to the company and performing qualitative and quantitative analysis of Stack Brewing Company, it is recommended for the company to go for the fourth alternative. If the company increases the magnitude and establishes and extends its current marketing, communications and distribution strategies, then it would not be difficult for the company to grab a large share of the brewery market in Canada. The company needs to attract young males within its target market based upon its competitive prices and wide availability of its products. Therefore, the company needs to extend its distribution and communication channels by employing different strategies as highlighted under these alternatives.

Analysis

The current internal strengths of the company are its range of brands and the taste of its quality products. The company is achieving good sales currently and it is expected that as a result of the increased production capacities in the year 2014, the companies’ sales would be boosted and the company would also be able to achieve economies of scale.

The trend of the market for the purchase of the beer of the company was changing and in the year 2010, an ‘eat local’ trend had begun. As a result of this trend, the success of the Stack Brewing Company was being affected significantly as the young and the middle aged professionals of the country were utilizing the products and the services of locally owned businesses.

Therefore, it was really important for the company to leverage on its production capabilities and boost its sales in the market by penetrating the market with new marketing and distribution strategies. Moreover, the major buyers of beer in Canada are the young males who are also called as the millennial males...................

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