Strategic Management Case #30

Strategic Management Case #30

Sula Vineyards

Current Situation

Rajeev Samant is the first to admit he knew nothing about winemaking when he first took over 15 acres of unused farmland outside Nasik, near Mumbai. The Stanford-educated engineer simply wanted to see the good land put to productive use. He tried all sorts of crops – from mangos and peanuts to roses – before settling on grapes. Now, just over a decade later, he runs Sula Vineyards, the biggest winery in India with about 400 employees and 70 distributors. One of the biggest challenges that he faced in building his business was that, when he started out, India’s winemaking industry was almost non-existent. Sula faced bureaucratic and administrative hurdles at every stage of its growth - from getting permits and authorization through to finding distributors and buyers for his wine.

Sula is expanding its business at a faster rate. Its line of products is also increasing with increasing demand in the Indian and overseas markets. Sula is adding 1000 acres of new vines to its current 1200 acres. Sula is enjoying 70% of market share in Indian market. Sula has adopted modern marketing which help it to attract mainstream middle class customers. The capital raised will primarily be used to boost sales and marketing efforts, and constructing a new ecologically friendly, state-of-the-art winery with a capacity of four million liters in Maharashtra. Sula aims to engage in sustainable agriculture in the Nashik region and to support the local rural economy.

Mission

Firmly committed to remaining at the forefront of Indian wines, Sula continues to experiment with new varietals, engage in sustainable agriculture, support the local rural economy, and, of course, make wines of outstanding quality and superb value.

Goals and Objectrives

* Bypass Chateau Indage as the top selling wine in India

* Establish Sula as a premier new world winery

Strategies

Mr Samant focused on persuading Indian consumers to view...