Château Montclair Wines

Case Prompt

Your client is a premium European winery called Château Montclair Wines based in Bordeaux, France. The winery produces a portfolio of high-quality wines that are distributed across Europe and North America. Château Montclair is well known among wine consumers and has developed a strong reputation for producing premium red and white wines.

The company is currently evaluating the possibility of expanding sales into the United Kingdom wine market. Management wants to determine which type of wine they should focus on selling in the UK and whether doing so would be profitable.

Background Information if asked:

• Market Share – See Exhibit 1
• Profit/Revenue – €43B in Revenue, €10B in Profit
• Portfolio of beers – Over 50 wine labels split between red wines, white wines, rosé, and sparkling wines
• Current Strategy – Seeking rapid expansion and revenue in any way possible
• UK shows potential as a wine market
• Château Montclair currently operates globally except in the UK, Africa, and Australia

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General response summary

• This case is meant to be driven by the interviewee; allow him/her to drive the case after each prompt and respond with “ands” if depth of explanation does not make the path forward clear.
• Most candidates will recognize that this is a profitability case, but a good candidate will see aspects of market entry and tailor their problem solving accordingly. Additionally, he or she will focus on qualitative aspects of the wine industry.
• Interviewee should develop a MECE framework; some example buckets are:
  • External: market factors, customer demand, regulatory concerns
  • Revenue: pricing strategy, volume, product offerings
  • Costs: identify variable and fixed cost, benchmark competitors
  • Market: competition, market share, barriers to entry
  • Entry: acquisition, JV, build from ground up
• Drive the interviewee to think about trends in wine consumption in Europe and whether those trends apply to the UK market.
• Exhibits should be handed out as the interviewee asks for certain aspects. They should realize that the client has a strong global market position, and that there is growth potential in the UK premium wine segment.