LABU 101

Marketing Château Margaux

Napo, Connie, Crystal, Christy

 Background Information
• Primary Goal:
– To protect the brand

– To command a price at the very top of

the five first-growth Bordeaux wines
 Background Information
• Types of Wine produced:
– Château Margaux
• Part of the French elite of wines as first
growth
• Price varies according to the factors of
production, e.g.: weather, quality of grapes
– Pavillon Rouge
• Use grapes that are not included in the
selection of Château Margaux
• Highly-priced
SWOT Analyses
 SWOT-Strengths
• Established brand
- represent good quality, elegant,
seductive wine

- company philosophy:
rather earn less than risk the quality

• Mature technology
- high quality human work
 SWOT-Weaknesses
• Relies heavily on the merchants, importers
and retailers

• No knowledge about the consumer base

– No own distribution system
– Mainly sold through the Bordeaux merchants
– No information at all

• Immature marketing team

– Relatively new concept in the industry
– A sign of weakness
 SWOT-Opportunities
• Huge pool of luxury consumers in Asia,
esp. China

• Tariff on wine in China has decreased,

hence favours the entry of China market

• Chinese consumers drink 0.7 litres of wine

per year * 1.3 billion= 9.1 billion litres
huge potential to explore
 SWOT-Threats
• Competition from New World producers
– Australia, South Africa and California

Reasons:
– Better in Marketing
– Lower costs
– Comprehensive labels
– Improved production techniques and quality

Dropped market share by 10% in 10 years

 SWOT-Threats
• Changing consumers’ taste
– Tend to taste the wine which is easier to taste
and understand
 SWOT-Threats
• Changing consumption pattern
– Tasting wine vs drinking wine
– Our wine is better for drinking
– More complex pleasures when wines are aged
 Actions to take
1. Entry to China Market

4. Contact James Suckling

=> Journalists of Wine Spectator
 PEST Analysis in China
• Political
– Entry to WTO  tariff cancelled price
↓
– Greater competitive power

• Economical
– GDP per capita ↑
– Greater purchasing power
– Huge potential market
 PEST Analysis in China
• Social
– ↑contact with foreigners
– Treat wine as a symbol of social status

• Technological
– Mature technology
– Economies of Scale
 Actions to take
1. Entry to China Market

4. Contact James Suckling

=> Journalists of Wine Spectator
 Actions to take
3. Wine Fair for connoisseurs
=> reinforce old ones
=> attract new ones

4. Constant Price
=> keep brand image
 References
• www.chateau-margaux.com/