Ganbei

ProHub Comment

This is a structured profitability case requiring candidates to balance revenue opportunities against cost optimization through production network rationalization. The case progresses from basic variable cost analysis (China brewery vs. UK production) to identifying fixed cost savings through facility consolidation, ultimately requiring candidates to integrate both quantitative calculations and qualitative risk assessment.

Estimated Time 15 minutes
Difficulty Medium
Source IESE
50 / 100

Your client, Salford Breweries, is a medium sized brewer who has recently experienced sales growth in the Chinese market. While this is excellent news, Salford Breweries is facing difficulty growing in a profitable manner.

The CEO of Salford Breweries has been instructed by the board to improve the company’s net profit by 10% in 2019. She has asked for your help in achieving this target.

Clarifying Information

  1. Revenue in 2018 was £220 million, and the net profit margin was 50%.
  2. The client currently has three breweries, all of which are in the United Kingdom.
  3. Sales in China is currently 360,000 hectolitres (hL), and 1.1M hL for the whole business (1 hL = 100L).
  4. Salford Breweries currently only sells to the China and United Kingdom markets.
  5. Salford Breweries sells a Lager, an IPA, and a Wheat Beer. The IPA became their best-seller in 2017.