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By Randy Zwitch - May 2nd, 2010  Category: Residency 4: Shanghai  Dr. Patrick Moreton from the Washington-Fudan EMBA program explains how Chivas Regal captured the Chinese market PM: Do you drink scotch?
(class erupts in laughter)
RZ: Yes.
With that one question, Dr. Moreton broke the ice faster than any guest speaker we’ve had prior. That said, I’m not sure if I should be proud or offended at my classmates reaction to me being the recipient of that question…
PM: How much is this bottle of Chivas Regal worth to you?
RZ: Right now, with an afternoon’s worth of classes to go? Not a whole lot!
In trying to illustrate the perception of the Chivas Regal brand in the U.S., Dr. Moreton couldn’t have picked a better person in the class than me. While I’m not a single-malt purist, other than running through the ‘colors’ of Johnny Walker I’ve never really spent that many glasses exploring the world of blended scotch whiskeys. Nor do I know anyone (as far as I know, at least) that prefers Chivas as their drink of choice.
According to Wikipedia, Chivas Regal was the drink of Frank Sinatra and the rest of the Rat Pack; however, to this 30-something American male, that association doesn’t mean a whole lot. More broadly, Chivas Regal isn’t spoken about in the U.S. in the same circles as single-malts like Macallan or The Glenlivet, or even Johnny Walker Black Label in the blended scotch whiskey segment. And yet, in China, Chivas Regal is second only to Remy Martin cognac in the premium spirits segment. How can this be?
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By Randy Zwitch - April 27th, 2010 Category: Residency 4: Shanghai  Day 6 was a half-day of sorts, with the first four hours of the day split equally between Strategy and Finance. The second half of the day was dedicated to optional corporate and cultural tours.
During the prior three residencies, I took these corporate tour afternoons off. In London, it was a simple mistake; with all of the details to take care of before starting the program, I just neglected to sign up. After London, however, I realized how great having an afternoon off could be, and strategically decided to take the Dubai and Delhi corporate tour afternoons off as well. What can I say, I enjoy a good nap!
For China, I had originally signed up for the Zhouzhuang cultural tour, as I wanted to see the “Venice of the East”, but at the last minute, I decided to change my plans to instead take a tour of the Bank of Communications. As one of the top five largest commercial banks in China, visiting the BOC provided an opportunity to listen to top Chinese officials discuss the issues and opportunities surrounding the banking system in China.
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By Randy Zwitch - April 20th, 2010 Category: Residency 4: Shanghai Yeah, I didn’t forget about the blog, nor have I been particularly busy while in Shanghai. I think the mood of the residency so far can be best described as slow and comfortable, and thus, I’ve not had a whole lot worth writing about. Shanghai is so modern and developed, there’s really no feelings of discomfort from being in another country; hell, there’s a Ferrari/Maserati dealer in the hotel!
Of course, that’s not to say I’m just lounging here by the pool, drinking Mai Tai’s and smoking Cuban cigars; there is plenty of real education going on here in Shanghai. Finance has been a nice refresher from my prior graduate school days, and Strategy has been a welcomed change of pace with all the time allotted to just sit and think through issues. But by the same token, the course-load has been a bit thin these first four days, with nearly no assignments due and light reading as the next day’s prep work.
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