Strategic Marketing Plan - Foster's Beer - U.S. Import Market.

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Foster’s Group

Strategic Marketing Plan

Foster’s Beer – U.S. Import Market



Foster’s Group Vision

Inspiring Global Enjoyment. Whether through beer, wine, spirits, leisure or property, Foster's premium products inspire enjoyment around the world.  

The purpose of this paper is to recommend a marketing strategy that will increase Foster’s share of the U.S. premium beer import market and fit a vision of one day becoming the number one premium import beer in the United States.        

Foster’s Group Mission

Foster's mission is to work together, respecting each other, our heritage, diversity, skills and knowledge to:

  • Build premium quality, first-choice brands
  • Deliver service excellence to customers and consumers
  • Generate superior returns for shareholders
  • Create an inspiring workplace
  • Be welcomed in the communities in which we operate.

Foster’s Group Company Profile

Foster's Group Limited is a global premium-branded beverage company. Foster’s delivers quality beer, wine, spirit and hospitality products to millions of consumers worldwide.

Foster's makes and markets Australia's most famous beer, Foster's Lager, as well as other leading beer brands in Australia such as Victoria Bitter, Crown Lager, Carlton Draught and Cascade Premium Lager. Foster's also produces premium wines.

Foster's Group as a brewer and wine company, employs 14,000 people worldwide and had $5.2 billion (AUD$) total annual sales in 2003.  Foster’s has brewing operations in Australia, Fiji, Vietnam, India and China and wine operations in Australia, Italy, Chile, the United States, the Netherlands, France and Germany.

Foster’s is an Australian public company with a global focus.  Foster's business philosophy involves building long-term growth while maintaining a clear focus on brand equity, margin management and capital efficiency that increases shareholder value and makes Foster’s a leading global company.  

Foster’s Group Sales and Financial Results History Table        

Source: Foster’s Group 2003 Financial Results


Foster’s Group Brands and Operating Units

There are four main operating units that make up Foster's Group:

Carlton and United Breweries (CUB) is the Australian beer and leisure unit. CUB produces the largest profits among the four business units.  The Continental Spirits Company is a subsidiary of CUB that produces and distributes leading Australian spirits brands and Ready-to-Drink products, including The Black Douglas Scotch Whisky, Cougar Bourbon, Coyote Tequila, Karloff Vodka, Wilson's Whisky, Akropolis Oyzo and Continental Liqueurs.  CUB's Australian Leisure and Hospitality division (ALH) owns and operates more than 135 hotels and 100 detached bottle shops in Australia. Foster’s is in the process of selling off the ALH business so it can focus on the core beverage business (ASX Announcement 26 September 2003).

         Beringer Blass Wine Estates, Foster’s international wine business, is a worldwide premium wine company. Beringer Blass Wine Estates sells around 14 million cases of wine annually, and packages 12.5 million private label cases annually.

Foster's Brewing International manages Foster's Lager, a fast growing worldwide premium beer brand exported to more than 150 countries. Foster's Brewing International oversees brewing operations in China, India, Vietnam, the UK, Ireland, Germany, Spain, Canada, Fiji and Samoa.

          The Lensworth Group, Foster’s Group property division, develops major residential communities in the larger cities of Australia.  


Foster’s Group Executive Management

Source: Foster’s Group 2002 Annual Report 

In an effort to manage their growing international presence from beer and wine product line exports and direct foreign investments, Foster’s Group created a new senior management position – V.P. Global Strategy & Business Development. This position was filled by Neville Fielke who will responsible for the direction and management of strategic planning and development activities for the global business. Mr Fielke spent more than 20 years working with leading multi-national companies, including four years as Chief Executive Officer of Heinz Watties Australasia and three years as Chief Executive Officer of HJ Heinz Australia.  “Neville adds depth and experience to the senior management team and brings a general management perspective to the important strategic and development role, at a time when the Company is in a strong financial position to consider all its future strategic growth options," said Foster's President and CEO, Ted Kunkel (ASX Announcement 4 September 2003).  

Mr. Fielke will play an important role in the strategic global marketing, investment and operations planning. Foster’s growth engine is the Beringer’s Wine and International Brewing segments, which represented 43% of Foster’s total 2003 sales revenue.

Foster’s Group Global Strategy

The Beringer & Blass Wine operations unit currently has a strategy of acquisitions and direct foreign investment in strong brands that has resulted in strong international sales and profit growth.  Wine sales doubled in 2000 and have remained strong ever since the purchase of California’s Beringer Wines.

While there are numerous opportunities to further expand the wine business through acquisitions, this paper will focus on the Foster’s Brewing International operating unit and opportunities to increase sales, profit and market share in the U.S. premium import beer market.  The U.S. market continues to see a decline in domestic sub-premium and premium segments and a growth in premium imports and new malt and spirit alternative beverages.  Although a tremendous opportunity, a separate emerging market strategy for China is not in scope for this paper due to risk and uncertainty at this time.  The European market and association with Formula One racing is part of Foster’s strategy of long-term growth in Europe.  Because of declining population and strong premium brand competitors, Europe does not offer the same growth opportunities as the U.S. import market.

Foster’s Brewing International Operating Unit Profile

Foster’s Brewing International is responsible for managing the Foster’s beer brand globally.  Foster’s Brewing International partners with leading local brewers in the UK, Europe and USA, and in Asia owns breweries in China, Vietnam, India, Fiji and Samoa. Through these breweries, the business also manages the export network.

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Foster’s has enjoyed international growth of more than 40 per cent in the last five years and is one of the fastest growing premium beer brands in the world. Brewed in nine countries and over 20 plants, Foster's Lager is widely sold and distributed throughout Australia, Asia, the Pacific, Europe, the Americas and the Middle East. It is the world's third most widely distributed brand, with over 100 million cases sold annually in more than 155 countries.

Foster’s brand beer is currently ranked the number two selling import brand in the UK (AC Nielsen); number seven across Europe, number six ...

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