Hardly Brl

1. How do you account for BRL Hardy's remarkable post merger success?

There were a lot of factors that I would associate with the success to the post merger , some of them are

There were some Operational factors:

a) The initial management focus on restructuring of domestic operations by capturing the economies and repositioning the product portfolio in line with the new strategy. Emphasizing quality branded bottle sales led to an impressive profitability increase

b) Restructuring of international operations by cleaning up the operating problems and building up the export strategy on the basis of a strong quality brand image.

c) Appointment of Christopher Carson and subsequently his successful implementation of cost cutting plans, controls, strong systems and policies that helped the company to breakeven operation in 1991.

On the Technological Success factors:

a) BRLH's excellent production facilities and management's commitment to quality supported its brands

Then most importantly there were some changes done to the organization.

The management changed the company's culture and management style by creating a more decentralized approach, but to hold management accountable was one of the important factors behind the success of BRLH particularly in its domestic operations.

The management Followed the "earn your stripes" model.

The core-competencies of both BRL and Hardy were perfect complements ; BRL had the raw materials (fruit), cash and the leadership, while Hardy had the marketing expertise, brand recognition, and the wine making know how.

The industry itself was becoming increasingly fashion-driven and Australian wine was becoming a "hot trend"

There was an important strategic shift of projecting BRL Hardy not as just a "quality exporter" but as an "international wine company" with worldwide product access backed by the marketing capability and distribution muscle to create global brands.

2. What is the source of tension between Carson and Davies?

There was quite some tension that prevailed between Davies and Carson , the main ones were the marketing issues. Carson was concerned about the image of Hardy's Brands (Stamps and Nottage Hill) as they were eroding in UK and he wanted to implement some kind of an adaptive strategy. He suggested that the products be repositioned and relaunched. But Davies was concerned about the demand for local control over branding. Davies wanted his UK Subsidiaries to be local implementers.

On the cultural Note, Although Stephen Davies endorsed