Makeover of Britannia

Flashback Contd...

1981: Rajan Pillai, a non-resident Indian bought a 5% shareholding in BIL.
1988: Pillai bought Associated Biscuits International Ltd. (ABIL), for $44 million (mn), which at that time had a 38% stake in BIL.
1993: Groupe Danone wrested the management control of BIL from Rajan Pillai in a hostile take-over leading to a complex holding structure at BIL.
1995: Nusli Wadia bought 50% of ABIL and became BIL's joint owner. Groupe Danone, which till then held 44% in BIL, divested 22% in favour of Wadia.

'Food For Thought'

BIL, since its inception had been mainly involved in the manufacture of biscuits, which contributed around 85% of its revenues (1997).

The biggest problem then, for the 80-year-old BIL was that its name was strongly associated by customers with biscuits (or more broadly bakery products).

With the de-reservation of biscuits from the small sector and commoditisation of the Rs 3500 crore biscuit market, coupled with cutthroat competition after the entry of multinationals and stagnating net profits, BIL looked for a fresher approach to survive and prosper.

BIL realised that it would have to scale up its marketing strategy in its main line of business and in addition tap new food categories to grow. One reason why BIL seemed to have woken late was that the company didn't have a proper parent until the French food and beverages major, Danone, acquired RJR Nabisco's holding in the company². BIL seemed to have realised that the time had come to change the rules of the game. It crafted a makeover plan to diversify into new but related areas, and at the same time consolidate and improve its core business, biscuits. By doing so BIL hoped to remain the market leader in biscuits and become a major player in related businesses also.

Makeover of Britannia - Next Page >>>

2] It was only in 1993 that Danone, along with Bombay Dyeing's Nusli Wadia, consolidated its 44 per cent stake in BIL,
and put in place a stable management.

Case Details

Case Code : MKTG006
Themes: Marketing Mix
Case Length : 8 Pages
Period : 1997-2000
Organization : Britannia Industries Ltd
Pub Date : 2001
Teaching Note : Available
Countries : India
Industry : Food, Beverages & Tobacco

Free Case Studies

Business Strategy
Finance
HRM
Insurance
IT and Systems
Marketing
Operations
Leadership
More Case Studies >>

Micro Case Studies

Business Environment
Business Ethics
Business Strategy
Human Resource Management
IT and Systems
Marketing
Operations
Micro Case Studies >>

Free Resources

Micro Case Studies
Free Case Studies
Articles
Interviews
Book Reviews
Glossary
Online Quiz
More Free Resources >>

Case Related Links

Best Selling Case Studies
Business Case Studies
Learning With Case Studies
Cases Used in Textbooks
Prize Winning Case Studies
More Case Studies >>

Case Studies and Management Resources

Asia's Most Popular Collection of Management Case Studies