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Final Exam
Case Study
Ravents i Blanc at Crossroads
Instructions:
The final exam for this International Marketing Strategies course is case based. Each
participant is required to analyze the case individually and upload the answers to the
assigned questions in a written report on moodle or deliver hand-written before the end
of the exam time. Please note that we consider this to be not just an exam but a part of
the whole learning experience. This case is meant to refresh and revise some of the
concepts that we have discussed in class over the last few months.
Below you will find some questions regarding the Ravents i Blanc Case, read them
carefully before to answer.
Let me make some recommendations before starting:
Use the concepts and tools that we have seen in class or the ones that you learn
from the readings to guide your reflections and justify your answers.
You have a maximum of 3 pages to answer. Annexes and bibliography are
considered beyond the three pages.
All questions have the same weight and will be evaluated on a scale: 0-10.
BE PRAGMATIC. SUPPORT YOUR ANSWERS. KEEP ANSWERS SHORT
AND DIRECTLY TO THE POINT.
Good Luck!
1. What is the Sparkling Wines, and Cava in particular competitive Position?
2. In your opinion what strategic alternatives are open to Ravents i Blanc? What
would you recommend? What are the implications of each of the alternatives?
3. What would you consider to be the priority markets if the company decided to
increase the international presence? Why?

1. What is the Sparkling Wines, and Cava in particular competitive Position?

Sparkling wines, in the Porters generic strategies matrix, can be positioned in
Differentiation: uniqueness as a source of competitive advantage and a broad target
market
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Sparkling wines producers come from many countries around the globe and sparkling
wines such as the French champagne or Italian Ca del Bosco are well known for their
high quality and high brand recognition. The target market for the sparkling wines is
considered as broad as it is sold all over the world to celebrate special events such as
birthdays, Christmas, new years eve or in any occasion which requires a special
attention. This is why the sparkling wines have uniqueness as a source of
differentiation because of the way it is consumed by its clients, its opposed to standard
wine which is drink on a regular basis (each day, several times a week) by most of its
consumers while sparkling wines are not drink so often (only on special occasions).
Moreover, sparkling wines with its bubbles is often associated with partying, having fun,
and a certain glamour, that is why it is considered so unique.
Cava, in the Porters generic strategies matrix, can be positioned in Cost leadership:
cost as a source of competitive advantage and a broad target market because most of
Cava turnover come from medium and lower quality products.
Indeed, the largest companies like Freixenet and Codorniu, which represents more than
a 75% market share in the sector are companies, benefit from major economies of scale
and a strong presence in distribution channels. That is why the cava market can be
placed in cost leadership as a huge majority of its products follow this pattern.
Nevertheless, several others brands such as Raventos or Juv I Camps have chosen to
position themselves in a other category: Focused Differentiation. They market
themselves as a premium sparkling wine and have a narrow target market as the size of
their production is considered to be very small. For example Raventos has put
emphasis on its heritage, roots, concept and high quality of its products (exclusive use
of grapes from its own vineyards, tradition, experience and family atmosphere). The
aspiration of Manuel Ravents father was to create a new category within the industry,
as he stated: There is champagne, us, and then the rest.
Ravents i Blanc is using the same market strategy for both lines of products, so the
Cavas and also the wines produced by the company have high quality but low brand
recognition and lack of exceptional position.
Currently the brand suffers from a stuck in the middle dilemma. Although they target to
generate high brand value, premium prices and a USP through differentiation by quality,
they did not manage to establish a strong image so far.

2. In your opinion what strategic alternatives are open to Ravents i Blanc? What
would you recommend? What are the implications of each of the alternatives?

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Regarding the product, the company could continue producing and selling both cava
and wine or leaving wine market and focus on cava or the contrary: leaving cava market
and only produce wine.
Moreover, another decision regarding market positioning has to be made. Ravents i
Blanc could stick to its positioning in a high quality niche market or to go to the mass
market.
A third possibility would be to position the brand and products differently in different
international markets. Finally, there also have to make a decision on the market
location. The company could either decide to grow in the Spanish market or focus on
growing in foreign markets. Furthermore, Ravents i Blanc could decide to address
mature markets, like European markets, or decide to address fast growing emerging
markets. Thus for me there are 3 feasible alternatives:
One first option would be to focus on the Spanish market, keep the quality positioning
and maintaining the two product categories: cava and wine. The main advantage of this
option is the market knowledge that the company already has. The downside is that the
brand reputation is low and Ravents i Blanc should invest a lot of resources in order to
build a recognized brand. In addition, the wine and cava Spanish market is highly
fragmented, meaning that it would be more difficult to gain market share. Finally, the
average consumption in the Spanish market is lower than in other European markets
which do not leave that much room from growth opportunity
Another option would be to focus on the core competencies of cava production and at
the same time maintain its high quality positioning in Spain. Cava was the original
product in which the company had a great expertise. Furthermore, fewer players
compete in the cava sector, since only a few producers were officially recognized as
producers of Cava and benefitted from the VCPRD classification. Nonetheless, cava
sales had a special characteristic: seasonality. As cava is associated to celebrations,
sales were mainly concentrated during Christmas holidays (4 th quarter sales accounted
for 39% of total yearly sales). This seasonality represents an issue for the brand.
However, abandoning the wine market would allow Ravents to focus only on Cava and
increase its production and dedicate all the resources on building a prestigious brand
comparable to Champagne.
The third option would be maintaining both product categories, the quality positioning
and tapping in international markets. One major disadvantage of the Cava business is
its seasonality. Given the current financial situation, we would recommend staying in the
wine business to benefit from anti-cyclical revenues from both wine and Cava sales.
Nevertheless, the international wine market is very competitive and it is difficult to enter
mature markets, since Ravents i Blanc could not differentiate its wines clearly from
competitors. The entering fast growing market where competitors brand recognition is
not so high can be a good option. Given the limited resources, Cava exports should be
the main driver to achieve sustainable growth.

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3. What would you consider to be the priority markets if the company decided to
increase the international presence? Why?
There are several markets to consider if the company decides to increase its
international presence. Regarding the potential markets in Europe, Ravents i Blanc
could try to foster a stronger wine drinking culture in the Scandinavian countries, where
markets are growing but there is no competition among local producers. If the brand
succeeds in establishing its cava there, it would undoubtedly become a strong growth
driver in a near future.
Moreover, Russia must be considered as a promising market, as the local production of
wines is much lower than the consumption and the growth rate in 2013 was 10.4%.
Furthermore, the sparkling wine market share in 2013 was 25.1%, one of the highest in
all Europe while champagne only accounted for 0,3% market share. Even though these
markets are price conscious, there are still some people with a high purchasing power
that Raventos could target with its high quality sparkling wine.
This analysis could be extrapolated to other Eastern European countries (like Hungary,
Poland and Czech Republic) even though their population is not that important
compared to Russia. Generally speaking, all countries without a wide middle-class and
where there is still a huge gap between poor and rich people who are willing to spend a
certain amount of money in luxury goods and prestigious brands are interesting markets
for Ravents.
Finally, the company could find other growth driver in some Asian markets such as
India, where the projected growth rate of the wine market is 19.1% or South Korea, with
a projected growth rate of 16.9% and finally Taiwan, with an 11%. All those countries
have very few knowledge of wine and thus it could be easier to build perceptions on a
brand such as Raventos in that kind of market than in more mature market, which
already have a deeper knowledge on wine, and some favorites brands.
Given the several opportunities mentioned above, we think that Ravents should
prioritize when deciding which markets to tackle. Asian markets offer a huge potential
given the expected growth rate and the number of consumers that are getting more
interested in wines and sparkling wines. The Russian market can be considered as the
second more interesting market if we consider the growing high class seeking good
quality products. Finally, Scandinavian markets seem also interesting because the high
purchasing power.
By entering emerging markets at an early stage, Ravents i Blanc has the chance to
benefit from first-mover advantages and grow with the market. A carefully executed
entry strategy can help establishing a strong brand image to gain competitive advantage
and to position the products in the high-class segment.