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1. SWOT-analysis
Strengths:-
Several strengths in Carlsberg as a company. They have a strong, durable and well known brand which
they utilise to create international and recognised sponsorships which connects them with the local
consumers. It is important for Carlsberg in Western and Northern Europe to make sure the consumers
request their beer in particular, as consumer awareness is important for the company’s position in the
market. This is one of the reasons they advertise as much as they do. Their commercials try to show
that their high quality beer should be associated with good and fun times. They have managed to
position themselves as a strong player in their core markets, Western & Northern Europe, Eastern
Europe and Asia. Carlsberg is available in restaurants, supermarkets or pubs, if not all, in the markets
where they operate with both their mainstream and premium beer. This shows that they have a good
and efficient distribution channel as well as good deals with the distributors and that they are available.
The company has a wide portfolio of beer which is suitable for both the younger and elder generation.
Carlsberg is in possession of some very durable resources, which they manage to utilise in the optimal
way. Most of the resources are hard to imitate and substitute. These resources include their brand and
quality of the beer. This is something that they are extremely concerned about and they use time and
resources on exposing the brand.
Carlsberg is trying to improve efficiency and lowering costs through the Operational excellence
program. This was also one of the reasons why the company in April 2006, announced the set up of a
new accounting department for the whole Carlsberg Group in Poland. The accounting departments
from the different Western European countries were moved to Poland from 2006 through 2008
(Carlsberg’s annual report 2007:23).
We assume that Carlsberg is financially stable. In 2008 they had a net cash flow of 743 million DKK
(Carlsberg’s annual report 2008:77). Regardless, Carlsberg has decided to try and reduce their debt
faster than was originally intended. This is done to protect their position in the market and show that
they are a solid and stable organisation. The turbulence in the financial markets can also be considered
an important factor for why they feel the need to secure their assets and assure their investors that the
company is a safe investment. The current ownership relations with the Carlsberg Foundation owning
51 % of the voted and 25 % of the share capital, does not put Carlsberg in any danger. Takeovers are
not something they should fear as long as they keep their debt at a reasonable level.

2. 8.2 Weaknesses
When looking at Carlsberg there are some obvious weaknesses as well. As mentioned earlier the
Carlsberg Foundation can be considered a weakness in relation to future opportunities for expansion
and acquisition. Seeing as Carlsberg has recently acquired parts of S&N it is not an option to make
such a big purchase in the near future. The Foundation is an obstacle in the strategy for Carlsberg to
grow through mergers as they do not have the sufficient capital required for them to buy 51 % of the
shares of the new division created by the merger. The debt of Carlsberg is another weakness, which is
an obstacle in terms of investments in growth. In the near future Carlsberg intends to pay off some of
the debt and will then again be able to make large investments. The debt poses some risk for the
company and has recently affected the stock price of the company.
8.3 Opportunities
Carlsberg’s strategy is still concerned with growth and expansion. They have the possibility to become
larger, enter new markets and grow in their existing ones. Obviously expansion can be done by
takeovers and mergers, particularly of small, local companies that they can use to their advantage in
their existing markets. However, they cannot go out and invest as they please. They have to evaluate
every option carefully and choose the ones they find most valuable to the company.
Carlsberg is now in the market for alcoholic beverages with products such as Somersby cider and EVE
beer in addition to regular beer. EVE is a beer that is mainly targeted towards women and comes in two
variants with different fruit flavours and it is only sold in Switzerland and Germany. Carlsberg sees this
product as a product with great potential (Carlsberg’s annual report 2008:45). Carlsberg has recently
launched a new variant of Somersby cider and we have yet to see if this will be a success. Since EVE
and Somersby have been such a great success, Carlsberg should try to be innovative and find new
products aimed towards different groups e.g. women.
Innovation can also be used to design new packaging and new bottles, which can increase the interests
in the products. The current packaging and bottles have been the same for a long time. However
Carlsberg have previously tried to make new bottles, but this was not a success (Kronborg 2008). So it
depends on how they look at consumer preferences and if the consumers will stay loyal after a change
of packaging.
In relation to new products from Carlsberg they have developed the organic beer Jacobsen extra pilsner.
Carlsberg also reports that the sale of organic beer has increased in 2008 (Carlsberg’s annual report
2008:46). Organic products have become more and more popular and the consumers are concerned
with the environment as well as additives. This is a development that is likely to continue in the future

3. and Carlsberg has to keep an eye out for this and always know what the consumers want.
Carlsberg should consider a product mix which means mixing different products and sell them in a
package together. By offering for example a package of six different products at a certain price, like
mainstream beer, premium beer and cider, the consumers can get different products at a lower price
than by buying all six products separately. Hopefully this will familiarise the consumers with more
products than they already know and increase the knowledge of Carlsberg’s product portfolio. When it
comes to the Scandinavian countries, one might hope that the consumers will like the premium beer
and buy it on other occasions, and not in a package. This can increase sales of premium beer in the
Scandinavian countries, and make the Scandinavian population more familiar with it.
It is important for such a global and large brewery as Carlsberg to know what their consumers prefer.
When looking outside the Western and Northern European market, Russian consumers especially the
“nouveau riche”, might want exclusive beer, something that is not a common good for everyone. They
are interested in luxury goods and want something unique such as the super-premium beer Carlsberg
can supply. Carlsberg could also consider making bottles that would fit the preferences of this market to
make sure that it fits the consumers.
After the acquisition of part of S&N, Carlsberg acquired full ownership of BBH (Carlsberg’s annual
report 2008:34). This strengthened their position in this market and we consider this as one of
Carlsberg’s strengths as this is an important growing market. The Eastern European market is a very
vulnerable market at the moment for Carlsberg, as the exchange rate fluctuations and the devaluation of
the RUB has decreased the earnings of Carlsberg considerably. However this market has great
prospects and potential due to the large populations and the upper class of the societies.
Carlsberg is already present on the Asian market, but it is still an emerging market with plenty of
opportunities. The beer culture in Asia is not the same as the one that exist in Europe and the Asian
population does not consume as much alcohol in general and especially not beer, as the Western
population. This is partly due to their culture and religion. Carlsberg currently sells 10 % of their
volume of beer on the Asian market and with the fast growing Asian economy this is a market with
potential to grow (Carlsberg’s annual report 2008:3). Carlsberg is facing a large task in being
innovative and finding out, which products the Asian population want and in this market it would be
smart to look at the local competitors and find out the key to their success. They have to familiarise
themselves with consumer preferences and make products that the consumers will like and buy.

4. 8.4 Threats
One of the most serious threats that Carlsberg face in the market today is the stagnation in the Western
and Northern European market. As Carlsberg does not operate in a wide variety of markets, it is vital
for them to maintain their position in this market. The Western and Northern European market is the
market where Carlsberg has the highest revenue, but it is also the market where they have the highest
costs. This means that Carlsberg needs to set high prices on their products to cover all their expenses in
this market. The Western and Northern European market is not as profitable on the operating profit
before special items as e.g. the Eastern European market. However the Western and Northern European
market is still vital for Carlsberg as it is an established and less risky market (Carlsberg’s annual report
2008:84).
The unstable world economy cannot be ignored and it has already had a great effect on Carlsberg in
terms of fluctuating exchange rates. This is mostly seen in relation to the British and the Russian
markets, where Carlsberg has suffered losses on sales. This is a factor that Carlsberg cannot change or
affect. They just have to keep supplying to their markets and try to reduce internal costs to increase the
profit margin of the products.
Increases in the unemployment rate and insecurity among the consumers have affected the sales of
premium beer. Consumers are more likely to replace their premium beer with more mainstream beer,
which is cheaper. Carlsberg could use this as an opportunity to promote and increase sales of their
mainstream beer.
In the Western and Northern European market there is intense competition. Carlsberg’s largest
competitor in this market is Heineken, but there are also several local players that have a good position
in the local communities. There are also other international players as this market is the market where
all the large breweries are present. Carlsberg has a good position in this market as they are the second
largest supplier here.
As parts of the world are becoming more health conscious, people might choose to substitute beer for
alcoholic products they find healthier. However this is a threat that has become an opportunity for
Carlsberg as they have launched a light beer with fewer calories. This creates the opportunity to
increase profits by selling both types of beer. By broadening the portfolio the company will be able to
target a larger group of segments. In relation to the health consciousness, several countries have passed
laws on non-smoking in bars and restaurants. This will possibly affect the consumption of beer in these
places, as people will spend less time there.

5. Strategic Planning Process
Set Objective:-
Initiate local production and community water management activities at high-risk sites. Carlsberg has
added an idea to its Eco-friendly nature as they decided to reduce water consumptions by 9% to
3.2hl/hl* within and outside their brewery as water wastage may cause a lots of issues in the future and
giving a kick-start to this project hoping that other companies will also support in saving the mother
nature and leaving our future generation with a better environment to stay in.
Formulated:-
This idea has been formulated since early 2008 as they have participated in the Designing Water's
Future in 2009 with INDEX and AIGA. Since then we can see the continuous effort from this brewery
to reduce the usage of water in their daily efforts to produce one of the finest beers. Although its a
challenging task, Carlsberg did some research on this matter and came out with an excellent idea of
producing higher end barley's which are more resistant to climate change and also last longer with
fresher taste. With this discovery they have a clear picture and speculations that will assist them for
their 2013 project with the Russian's Baltika Breweries to conserve water in their breweries.
Implementation:-
Implementation of this significant idea will begin early 2013 in collaboration with the United Nations
Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) where they will later have an oppurtunity to further
strengthen one of their core values of engaging with society through dedicated community activities
focused at improving the environment and implementing sustainable practices in agro-projects. Certain
information about the progress of the Group in the 8 key CSR directions: “Environment”, “Responsible
drinking”, “Community engagement”, “Marketing communications”, “Labour and human rights”,
“Health & safety”, “Business ethics”, and “Responsible sourcing”. The online document also includes
the targets of Carlsberg Group concerning CSR for 2012-2013. The report is based on data provided by
the companies of the Group including Carlsberg Ukraine.
Evaluation:-
This projects seems to be beneficial for the both the breweries and also for the brewing industry as it
takes them them to the next level considering the mother nature and making our living environment a
safer place to be. Taking risk to improve our surrounding is never a harm as Carlsberg may regain its
investments once people starts to realize the difference and the effort put in by this company to make a
difference for our future generation.

6. Generic Strategy
Carlsberg has a very different sort of strategy where it depends on the locals and their customer's to be
more precise on their market. They learn as they mature in this business, in the sense of when they set a
base in certain markets they offer their global product and also adapt to local strong beers to work
together and tries to cover the entire market. Within this process itself they tend to learn their
competitors and partners marketing strategy up till their brewing skills in order to improve their own
quality in almost everything with this they gain more and more experience in order to understand their
customers base. This information will then be processed and presented during the Annual Meeting
among all the global Carlsberg Leaders. This is not only a very unique but a very beneficial technique
which will keep them on the track as they mature in this line of business. Another marketting strategy
that is strongly being imposed by Carlsberg is that they do heavy advertising job from a banner till the
extend to sponsor a famous football club and even collaborating with charity and human rights
association. This sort of activities may not only lead fame to the company but will also provide a high
return and within few years almost everyone shall be aware of this amazing brand.