Mountain Man Brewery

Situation
Analysis

A) Internal
environment
 General
characteristics:
  Mountain
Man
Lager
is
a
family
owned
brewing
company,
and
is
known
as
West

Virginia’s
beer.


Change
of
CEO,
as
the
founder
and
president
Oscar
Prangel
retires,
leaving
the
company
 to his
son
Chris
Prangel.


Due
to
changes
in
beer
drinker’s
preferences,
the
company
is
experiencing
a
decline
in
 sales for
the
first
time
in
the
company’s
history.


Mountain
Man’s
2005
revenues
are
down
by
2%
relative
to
the
prior
year,
while
 premium beers
are
declining
annually
by
4%.


Because
of
its
popularity
in
the
East
Central
region,
it
has
held
the
top
market
position
 in West
Virginia
and
Illinois
for
50
years.
 Mountain
Man’s
current
marketing
goals:


Maintain
a
steady
share
of
its
market
segment
by
regaining
the
2%
annual
loss
and
 retain more
than
40%
of
the
market
in
the
East
Central
region.

 Become
leaders
in
the
East
Central
region
by
winning
“best
beer”
in
each
state.

 Maintain
brand
equity
and
customer
loyalty
with
Mountain
Man
Lager.

These
goals
can
be
achieved
if
they
are
consistent
with
the
current
trends
and
competition.
If

Mountain
Man
Brewing
Company
wants
to
regain
its
leadership
in
their
region,
they
must
 change their
product
and
their
marketing
strategy
to
meet
today’s
demands.
 Mountain
Man’s
current
marketing
strategy:


Product:

bitter
flavoured
beer
that
is
known
for
its
slightly
higher
than
average
alcohol
 content. It
is
packaged
in
a
brown
bottle
to
accentuate
its
dark
colour,
and
has
its
 original logo
design
on
the
front
(a
crew
of
coal
miners).


Price:
It
is
priced
similar
to
its
competition.
It
is
$2.25
for
a
12‐ounce
serving
draft
beer
 in a
bar
and
$4,
99
for
a
six‐pack
in
a
convenience
store.


Place:
Mountain
Man
Lager
is
sold
primarily
in
Illinois,
Indiana,
Michigan,
Ohio
and

West
Virginia.
MMBC
sells
most
of
its
beers
in
off‐premise
locations
such
as
liquor
 stores and
supermarkets.

