José Maria da Fonseca is the Portuguese company in which this teaching case in based on.
The Case Study is followed by a teaching note, and is intended to support Marketing classes,
both in undergraduate or graduate levels. The company, the oldest table wine producer in the
country and owned by the same family for seven generations, exports more than 70% of its
production. It has clear international roots, exporting since the nineteenth century. Among its
main markets there are countries as different as Brazil, Sweden, Canada or the United States
of America. The focus of this case study is on the U.S. market.
In 2011 the U.S. was the major wine consumer in the world, particularly diverse concerning
the population and with State-specific regulations in what comes to distribution. The three-tier
distribution system and all the collected taxes increase the complexity of the exports to this
market and turn price into a very sensitive element to distribution changes.
In order to find the best approach to increase the success in such an overseas market, JMF
Marketing Director goes, during the case, through an analysis of the marketing environment,
consumer trends and competition. Particularly considering the importance of a
Representative in the overseas market, and the key relevance of relationships with the
chosen Distributor, students are invited to equate different distribution possibilities and
advantages, the resulting prices and the adequateness of the Product Portfolio to the
segments, their needs and the competitive environment.
This case provides students, mainly those in the Marketing field, with an opportunity to
increase their experience on marketing strategy issues in exporting, understanding issues
that firms face when formulating an implementing marketing plans, particularly in what comes
to distribution and product. Recommendations cover topics such as product line stretching,
different disintermediation levels and pricing calculations supported by quantitative and
qualitative data. Getting closer to real-life business decisions in export markets, the case
readers are given the tools to solve the presented dilemma and recommend the case
protagonist the most strategically defensible action possibility
