Red Is Red

CASE STUDY

FANZ MILK (GHANA) LIMITED

(Instructional Manual: Marketing Management)

*The assistance of my students in the 2010 Marketing Class is highly appreciated. Being an instructional manual only, it is entirely a fiction. Any semblance to real names of companies, persons or places is therefore coincidental.

Gazie Okpara.

INTRODUCTION

The President, Fanz Milk (Ghana) Ltd, (FML), Mr. M. Franklyn, is facing a herculean challenge on all fronts: the soaring prices of inputs, the cholera outbreak in some parts of Ghana, the overzealous harassments by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, the sensitization of Ghanaians by The Healthers for better eating habits, etc. These are coming on the heels of the ultimatum handed the Management Team by the shareholders at its 2010 AGM, to turn the fortunes and the dividends of the company around.

COMPANY BACKGROUND

FML was incorporated in 1960 as Ghana Milk Company, by a group of Scandinavian investors basically to produce milk to complement the protein requirements of Ghanaians. Its main product at incorporation was pasteurized milk. In 1962 the Company underwent two significant changes. Firstly its name was changed to Fan Milk Limited, and secondly the product portfolio was expanded to include ice cream, yoghurt and ice lollies. The name has since become a household name in Ghana, and is a common sight to see their ice-cream carts and bicycles on beaches and the streets dispensing products.

Located in the North Industrial area, FML has since commenced operations in Benin, Togo and Burkina Faso. It was listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange in 1990, with a good All-Share Index, being the first foreign-invested company to become a Public Limited Liability. in 1967 and among the first Companies to be listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange in 1990. As at its 2010 AGM, the shareholder strength reached a record 8,250, with its shares second only to Unilever’s in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) category....