Case Name :      Carlsberg in Emerging Markets

Authors :           Michael W. Hansen, Torben Pedersen, Marcus Moller Larsen

Source :             Ivey Publishing

Case ID :            W11045

Discipline :        General Management

Case Length :    12 pages

Solution Sample availability : YES

Plagiarism : NO (100% Original work)

Risking becoming the target of a hostile takeover or alternatively, being cornered as a small regional player in the global beer industry, the Danish brewery Carlsberg decided in the early 2000s to expand into the rapidly growing emerging market to pursue new arenas of growth. By 2008, this strategy had paid off, and Carlsberg was positioned amongst the five largest breweries in the world. In the Russian market – one of the fastest growing markets in the world – Carlsberg had become the market leader. In China – the world’s largest beer market in terms of size and population – the company had achieved a 55 per cent market share in Western China, and operated 20 brewery plants with approximately 5,000 employees. The ambitious acquisition strategy applied in emerging markets had become essential to Carlsberg’s business in relation to future growth and profit. Accordingly, the case focuses on Carlsberg’s entry into China, which started as a commercial failure in the eastern part of the country, but subsequently developed successfully in the west.