Redhookale

Redhook Ale *Identify the company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats: I think one strength was that Redhook formed a distribution alliance with Anheuser-Busch. I think many people would see this alliance as positive, while others would see it as negative. It could be positive because craft beer was being introduced to more people, but negative because big brewers might control the beer business even more. I certainly think this alliance was an opportunity for Redhook. I would consider Redhook only having two main breweries in the U.S. a weakness. I think Redhook tried many ideas for marketing the beer, including a homepage, visitor tours, sponsorships, and product samples. A threat to Redhook could have been when competitors reduced their prices, forcing Redhook to do the same. Also, by late 1996, there were many more craft brewers. Redhook became saturated and started to loose sales. Another weakness was Redhook's use of debt. Their total debt to total assets ratio was not good. I think Redhook was probably given opportunities by Anheuser-Busch to help develop new markets. *How would you turn the opportunities into competitive advantages? (Which competitive forces are the strongest? The weakest?) I think that Redhook could turn the opportunities into competitive advantages by using cost focus. "Cost focus is a low-cost competitive strategy that focuses on a particular buyer group or geographic market and attempts to serve only this niche, to the exclusion of others." Paul Shipman stated that one goal was to continue market development and penetration in the East and other parts of the nation. I think that cost leadership might also work. It is "a low-cost competitive strategy that aims at the broad mass market." I think the strongest competitive forces are probably the threat of new entrants, the threat of substitute products or services, and possibly the bargaining power of suppliers. I think the weakest are most likely the relative power of unions, governments, etc. and the bargaining power of buyers. After determining strengths, combine them into specific capabilities, or things they can do well. All weaknesses need to be upgraded. *Determine what you believe to be the company's best resource. What other evaluation tool would you use to measure this resource's competitive capabilities? Why did you choose this evaluation tool? I think the company's best resource is providing