Shanghai, Day 7: Chivas Regal captures China 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!

Chivas Regal Strategy

Dr. Patrick Moreton from the Washington-Fudan EMBA program explains how Chivas Regal captured the Chinese market

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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Delhi, Day 5-6: Speakers galore

I’m always humbled by the quality of guest speakers we are treated to as part of the CCMBA program.  It’s clear that the program staff and administrators really take their time in courting truly significant leaders in global business, rather than just chasing current “big names” in business/management.  While there’s nothing wrong with “big name” speakers per se (hearing Paul Volcker speak was probably the highlight of my time at the University of Delaware), I love the fact that the guest speakers chosen for our program are as approachable as they are impressive.

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I wasn’t really looking for a kick in the pants

So in a previous post, I was talking about how I took it easy after getting back from Dubai, and that I needed some motivation.  I had just finished the Managerial Economics exam (which I killed by the way, sorry for you curve riders!) and started the airline decision model, and I hoped these two assignments would keep me in forward motion.  I still offered that anyone who wanted to give me some words of motivation were free to do so…but I reckon the professors have taken care of that for me.

Over Thanksgiving break, there was a Decision Models quiz (Monte Carlo simulation), a Decision Model team project (estimating olive oil demand), and the following is due by December 8th:

  • Decision Models quiz (Optimization)
  • Decision Models team project (molasses)
  • Decision Models personal project
  • Managerial Economics demand estimation team project (pies…is it just me, or is the Fuqua theme after “Leader of Consequence” turning out to be food and drink?)
  • 2 1-hour classes Saturday, along with some videos/modules to watch before class

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