The Bonfils Vinyards: What is the ideal development model for an independent wine producer in an area dominated by cooperatives?

In the heart of the Languedoc, the Bonfils Vinyards, an independent family-run winemaker has been expanding progressively over the past decades. Their strategy was to acquire a succession of domains located in various terroirs in the Languedoc. The policy of the company was to use the diversity of the region's geography and its soils to plant new grape varieties and regularly renew the vines. On the sales front, the business was split equally between domestic and export markets. In terms of positioning, the company has a wide range of products that is suitable for a mass market.

This is a generalist case study in marketing. Learners will produce three different dossiers but all of them are related to marketing within the context of an SME seeking to improve its export position.

There are several different objectives:
1. To illustrate the dichotomy between product based communication and corporate communication. With an audience of beginners, it will enable the trainer to remind students of the disparities between these two approaches and weigh up the pros and cons in the context of an SME.
2. To introduce learners to the notion of product portfolio and managing a product range. The case can illustrate the advantages and disadvantages of a production oriented portfolio as opposed to a market-driven one. In addition to this, the case can be used to elaborate upon the notion of positioning, looking at this concepts in terms of its different parameters.
3. To enable learners to analyse market attractiveness, particularly in export. One can assess the five criteria that are used to assess market attractiveness: growth, profitability, accessibility, nature of the competitive system and consumer behaviour.

Wine business, wine, SME, communication, export, branding, Languedoc

Target audience: business schools, universities, executive education, bachelor (second or third year students) or master programs.
This case is particularly useful in specialised programs oriented towards wine management. However, it can also be handled by nonspecialists, particularly in general management programs oriented towards SMEs and their approach to marketing.

Wine business

- Two debriefing documents are provided. The first is to be projected in class (20 slides), the second is for the trainer and includes comments (25 slides).
- French version available: KEDGE-MA-008

Année de la problématique : 2015

Livraison : Livraison par lien de téléchargement

Nombre de pages : 34 avec 21 page(s) annexe(s)

Temps d'utilisation : 3h00