Competing with multinationals: Strategies of the Portuguese alcohol industry

Business History Review

Volumn 79, Issue 3, 2005, Pages 559-585

  Da Silva Lopes, Teresa ^a  

^a QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 30344462974     PISSN: 00076805     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/s0007680500081447     Document Type: Review

References (142)

1. The gross domestic product per capita as a percentage of the average EU-15 (with fifteen member states), in 1960, 1986, and 2002 was, respectively: Portugal: 39.5, 53.9, 68.8; France: 103.5, 107.3, 103.0; United Kingdom: 122.4, 100.7, 103.3; Netherlands: 115.8, 104.0, 112.3. European Commission, European Economy (2003): 6.
2. See, for example, Fortune 2004 Global (July 2004). While a similar situation applies to Portuguese multinationals from other industries, the alcoholic-beverage industry was historically very important. Hence the argument presented here helps explain why even the leading industries in countries may fail to develop multinationals.
3. In marketing-based industries, the growth and survival of firms rely on the development of brands and distribution networks, rather than on technology and R&D, and governance of firms tends to rely on concentrated ownership and managerial control. Teresa da Silva Lopes, Global Brands (New York, forthcoming).
4. Adam Smith, An Enquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (New York, 1937 [1776]), bk. 4, ch. 3, para. 31;
5. David Ricardo, On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation (London, 1973 [1817]), ch. 7, para. 16. In this article, I have not gone into much detail about some of the other factors often mentioned as determining the wealth of nations, such as technological progress, because they are not considered to have been central in explaining the development of the alcoholic-beverage industry from 1960 to the present day.
6. David Francis, Os Tratados de Methuen (Braga, 1956);
7. David Francis, Some Reflections on the Methuen Treaties (Coimbra, 1956);
8. Jose Luis Cardoso et al., O Tratado de Methuen (1703): Diplomacia, Guerra, Politico e Economia (Lisbon, 2003).
9. Sandro Sideri, Trade and Power: Informal Colonialism in Anglo-Portuguese Relations (Rotterdam, 1970).
10. José da Silva Lopes, A Economia Portuguesa desde 1960 (Lisbon, 2002),
11. and Tendêncies e Perspectivas de Exportação Portuguesa para o Estrangeiro (Lisbon, 1969);
12. Instituto National de Estatística (INE), Estatísticas de Comércio Externo, 2001.
13. From 1937 to 1939, the United Kingdom absorbed about 50 percent of Portuguese exports of wine. Conceição Andrade Martins, Memória do Vinho do Porto (Lisbon, 1990);
14. Teresa da Silva Lopes, "Os Mercados de Vinho do Porto," in Gaspar Martins Pereira, ed., O Vinho do Porto (Porto, 2003).
15. Institute do Vinho do Porto, Elementos Estatisticos da Actuação das Firmas de Vinho do Porto (1945-1960);
16. World Advertising Research Center, World Drink Trends (2005).
17. Douglass C. North, Institutions, Institutional Change, and Economic Performance (Cambridge, U.K.), 1990.
18. Mark Granovetter, "Economic Action and Social Structure: The Problem of Embeddedness," American Journal of Sociology 91 (1985): 481-501.
19. Alfred D. Chandler Jr., Strategy and Structure (Cambridge, Mass., 1962);
20. The Visible Hand (Cambridge, Mass., 1977);
21. and Scale and Scope: The Dynamics of Industrial Capitalism (Cambridge, Mass., 1990).
22. Chandler, Scale and Scope, 38;
23. E. H. Chamberlain, The Theory of Monopolistic Competition (Cambridge, Mass., 1962);
24. Stephen Hymer, "On Multinational Corporations and Foreign Direct Investment" (Ph.D. diss., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1960),
25. cited by John H. Dunning, in "The International Operations of National Firms: A Study of Foreign Direct Investment," The Theory of Transnational Corporations, ed. John H. Dunning (London, 1992);
26. John H. Dunning, "Trade Location of Economic Activity and the MNE: A Search for an Eclectic Approach," in The International Allocation of Economic Activity: Proceedings of a Nobel Symposium Held at Stockholm, eds. Bertil Ohlin, Per-Ove Hesselborn, and Per Magnus Wijkman (London, 1977);
27. Michael Porter, Competitive Advantage (New York, 1985);
28. and Competitive Advantage of Nations (New York, 1990).
29. Chandler, The Visible Hand.
30. Louis Galambos and Joseph Pratt, The Rise of the Corporate Commonwealth (New York, 1988).
31. Richard Sylla and Robert E. Wright, "Networks and History's Generalizations: Comparing the Financial Systems of Germany, Japan, Great Britain, and the United States," paper presented at the Business History Conference, Le Creusot, France, 17-19 June 2004;
32. Sidney Pollard, Typology of Industrialization Processes in the Nineteenth Century (London, 1990);
33. and David S. Landes, The Wealth and Poverty of Nations (New York, 1998).
34. Mira Wilkins, The Emergence of the Multinational Enterprise: American Business Abroad from the Colonial era to 1914 (Cambridge, Mass., 1970);
35. The Maturing of the Multinational Enterprise: American Business Abroad from 1914 to 1970 (Cambridge, Mass., 1974);
36. and The History of Foreign Investment in the United States, 1914-1945 (Cambridge, Mass., 2004).
37. Wilkins also looks at the role of brands in the development of firms. See Mira Wilkins, "The Neglected Intangible Asset: The Influence of the Trade Mark on the Rise of the Modern Corporation," Business History 1 (1992): 66-95.
38. John Dunning's eclectic paradigm has been explored in many of his publications. See, for example, John H. Dunning, "Reappraising the Eclectic Paradigm in an Age of Alliance Capitalism," Journal of International Business Studies 26 (1995): 461-91.
39. Geoffrey Jones, Multinational and Global Capitalism (Oxford, 2004).
40. Martins, Memória.
41. It is estimated that in 1950 the proportion of the GDP was still 4 percent, although by the end of the 19703, that figure had decreased to 0.5 percent, mainly as a result of the development of other industries that incorporated higher levels of technology. See José António Girão, Natureza do Problema Agricola em Portugal, 1950-73 (Oeiras, 1980).
42. During the decade from 1960 to 1969, Portugal, with a consumption level of 12.58 liters of pure alcohol, was the world's third largest per capita consumer of alcoholic beverages after France and Italy. During the 1990s, it kept its position in the world rankings, after Luxembourg and France, with a per capita consumption of 10.93 liters of pure alcohol. Numbers were calculated using data from World Advertising Research Center, World Drink Trends (Henley-on-Thames, 2000).
43. Sideri, Trade and Power;
44. H. E. S. Fisher, The Portugal Trade: A Study of Anglo-Portuguese Commerce, 1700-1770 (London, 1971).
45. David Corkill, The Portuguese Economy since 1974 (Edinburgh, 1993).
46. Tim Unwin, The Wine and the Vine (London, 1991).
47. Gilbey's is an exception, as it is a U.K. firm that developed initially from the wine business, though as an international distributor and brander, not as a producer. Unwin, Wine and the Vine.
48. Michael Moss and John H. Hume, The Making of Scotch Whisky (Edinburgh, 1981);
49. Terry Gourvish and Richard G. Wilson, The British Brewing Industry, 1830-1980 (Cambridge, U.K., 1994);
50. Commission of the European Communities, "A Study of the Evolution of Concentration in the Dutch Beverage Industry," 1976;
51. Keetie E. Sluyterman and H. H. Vleesenbeek, Three Centuries of De Kuyper, 1695-1995 (Shiedam, 1995);
52. François Guichard and Philippe Roudié, Vins, Vignerons et Coopérateurs de Bordeaux et de Porto (Paris, 1985).
53. About the origin of the demarcations in the Douro region, see Gaspar Martins Pereira, "A Região do Vinho do Douro. Origem e Evolução de uma Demarcação Pioneira," Douro: Estudos e Documentos 1 (1996): 179-95.
54. See the article in this issue by Paul Duguid, entitled "Networks and Knowledge: The Origins and End of the Port Commodity Chain, 1703-1860."
55. Alberto Vieira and Constantino Palma, O Vinho da Madeira (Lisbon, 1998);
56. Alberto Vieira, A Vinha e o Vinho na Historia da Madeira, séculos XV-XX (Funchal, 2003);
57. David Hancock, Citizens of the World (Cambridge, U.K., 1995).
58. Unwin, Wine and the Vine.
59. Pernod Ricard was one leading firm that followed this type of strategy through the acquisition in 1989 of the Australian wine Jacob's Creek, which also had important distribution operations. Interview with Thierry Jacquillat, former CEO of Pernod Ricard (London, 20 Jan. 2004).
60. The fact that Portugal was a corporatist state from 1933 until 1974 also had an impact. Corporatism proclaimed as superior a system of professional and occupational groups and bodies (corporations) that would promote cooperation and harmony between capital and labor. Carlos Bastien and José Luís Cardoso, "Corporatism and the Theory of the Firm: Lessons from the Portuguese Experience," Journal of the History of Economic Thought 26 (2004): 197-219.
61. Office International de la Vigne e du Vin (2004).
62. World Advertising Research Center, World Drink Trends.
63. See, for example, the case of Heineken. M. G. P. A. Jacobs and W. H. G. Mass, Heineken History (Amsterdam, 1992), ch. 6.
64. D. C. L. Gazette (Winter 1967): 209-11;
65. Ronald B. Weir, The History of the Distillers Company, 1877-1939: Diversification and Growth in Whisky and Chemicals (Oxford, 1995).
66. Alec Waugh, Merchants of Wine (London, 1957): 33-35;
67. Unwin, Wine and the Vine.
68. There were, however, many Portuguese-based firms set up with British capital, which had wholly owned distribution channels abroad. An example is Sobral & Pinto. Paul Duguid and Teresa da Silva Lopes, "Institutions and Organizations in the Port-Wine Trade, 1814-1834," Scandinavian Economic History Review 47 (1999): 84-102.
69. See, for example, Ramos Pinto, which dominated the Brazilian port market from the late nineteenth century until the 1930s. Since then, the barriers created to imports (as a way to protect domestic production) and the expanded production of other domestic alcoholic beverages made of various fruits and beer-which had low alcohol content, were better adapted to the requirements of consumers living in tropical climates, and were cheaper-led to the collapse of trade in this market. Gaspar Martins Pereira, O Douro e o Vinho do Porto de Pombal a João Franco (Porto, 1991);
70. Teresa da Silva Lopes, "Os mercados do vinho do Porto," in Pereira, ed., O Vinho do Porto;
71. José Auguste França, Adriano Ramos Pinto, 1880-1980 (Ramos Pinto, 1987).
72. For instance, between 1960 and 1964 roughly 26 percent of Portuguese wines were exported (this figure does not include sales to the former Portuguese colonies). In 2002, table wines made up 22 percent of Portuguese wine exports and port comprised 84 percent. Institute Nacional de Estatística, "Estatíscas de Vendas e Comércio Externo," 2003;
73. World Advertising Research Center, World Drink Trends (2005);
74. Institute to Vinhos do Douro e do Porto, "Estrutura da Comercialização de Vinho do Porto por Mercados," 2005.
75. Wendy Hurst, Ed Gregory, and Thomas Gussman, Alcoholic Beverages: Taxation and Control Policies (Ottawa, 1997).
76. It lowered the duties on wine and expanded the sale of alcoholic beverages through retail outlets. Gladstone's cuts were, however, very much in response to the Anglo-French Treaty of 1860 and were designed to encourage free trade. Unwin, Wine and the Vine;
77. Richard McGowan, Government Regulation of the Alcohol Industry (London, 1997).
78. Vital Moreira, O Governo de Baco (Porto, 1998);
79. Susan Schneider, O Marquês de Pombal e o Vinho do Porto: Dependência e Subdesenvolvimento em Portugal no Século XVIII, trans. Jörge Oliveira Marques (Lisbon, 1980);
80. Kenneth Maxwell, Pombal: Paradox of the Enlightenment (Cambridge, U.K., 1995);
81. Pereira, O Douro e o Vinho do Porto de Pombal a João Franco.
82. Until the 19803, investments in marketing were not well regarded in the industry among managers, since they were considered to go against a "gentleman's business." Interview with Manoel Pintão, chairman of Poças Junior (Porto, 19 Jan. 2000); interview with Bernando Campos, former director of A. A. Ferreira (Porto, 20 Feb. 2000).
83. All investors were required to gain approval from the government in order to make any substantial investments, including the establishment of a new firm or even of a new factory for expanding production. António Barreto, "O Vinho do Porto e a Intervenção do Estado," Análise Social 24, no. 100 (1988): 373-90;
84. Jaime Reis, O Atraso Económico Português, 1850-1930 (Lisbon, 1993): 9-32.
85. Teresa da Silva Lopes, Internacionalização e Concentração no Vinho do Porto (Porto, 1998).
86. "Mercado Único. Harmonização Fiscal do Álcool e Bebidas Alcoólicas," Revista do Agricultor 48 (1993): 37-40.
87. Pedro Lains, "New Wine in Old Bottles: Output and Productivity Trends in Portuguese Agriculture, 1850-1950," European Review of Economic History 7 (2003): 43-68.
88. Richard Whitiey, ed., European Business Systems: Firms and Markets in Their National Contexts (London, 1992);
89. Michael Mayer and Richard Whittington, "National Institutions and Corporate Change: Strategy, Structure and 'Systemness' in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, 1950-1993," Industrial and Corporate Change 8 (1999): 519-51.
90. The French firm Pernod Ricard illustrates this situation. Although the company's chairman and CEO, Patrick Ricard, is a family member, its executive managers, Richard Burrows and Pierre Pringuet, are hired professionals. They were appointed as joint managing directors in 2000. Richard Burrows had previously been chairman of Irish Distillers, and Pierre Pringuet had previously been chairman of Pernod Europe. Pernod Ricard, Annual Report and Accounts (2000);
91. interview with Thierry Jacquillat, former CEO of Pernod Ricard (London, 20 Jan. 2004).
92. Lopes, Global Brands.
93. Even though the Portuguese capital market is very small, it does not make sense for its firms to set up headquarters abroad in order to be quoted in foreign stock exchanges and increase funding, because they are too small.
94. Gaspar Martins Pereira, Sogrape: Uma Históric Vivida (Porto, 2003).
95. Mark Casson, "The Economics of the Family Firm," Scandinavian Economic History Review 47 (1999): 10-23.
96. Allied Domecq was acquired by Pernod Ricard in 2005, after this article was submitted to Business History Review. Cockburn, previously part of Allied, was slated for possible sale to Fortune Brands.
97. These marginal businesses can complement brewing activities and therefore function as important platforms for brewers to gain access to distribution channels with their beer brands. For example, in becoming international, Scottish & Newcastle invested in Portugal. As well as acquiring Centralcer, it took over Luso, the leading local water company. Interview with Tony Froggatt, CEO of Scottish & Newcastle (Edinburgh, 11 July 2003).
98. These differences can also be found in the concentration of sales to the markets where those brands are sold. While Diageo's Johnnie Walker was sold in twelve markets, Sogrape had five main markets for the brand Sandeman. Calculations are based on data from "Company Watch," Canadean (London, 2003). The number of equivalent markets (I/H) is the inverse of (H), the Herfindahl Index frequently used in industrial economics to measure the concentration of industries. In this case, the index is adapted to measure the concentration of sales in terms of each firm's markets of destination.56 Wine is usually made from the fermented juice of grapes. But it can be also be produced from other commodities. For example, in Asia it is made from rice and in Africa from palmtree sap. There are many different types of grape wines, varying according to the specific characteristics of the blend of grape varietal used. These can produce different flavors, colors, and chemical composition. Processing methods also lead to major differences in the end product. In most wine-making, the carbon dioxide generated during fermentation is allowed to escape. In some cases, however, escape is prevented, and sparkling wines-most famously champagne-are the result. Similarly, in most cases, fermentation proceeds until most of the sugar in the grapes has turned into alcohol. In some cases, however, spirit is added to preserve some of the sugar. This process results in fortified wines, such as port or sherry.
99. Line extensions use an established brand name for a new offering in the same product category. S. K. Reddy, S. L. Holak and S. Bhat, "To Extend or not to Extend: Success Determinants of Line Extensions," Journal of Marketing Research 31 (1994): 243-62.
100. Based on data from "Company Watch: LVMH" and "Company Watch: Sogrape," Canadean (London, 2003).
101. Fernando Guedes, in an interview, "Fighting Flask," published in the Times (London), 31 Oct. 1991;
102. Pereira, Sogrape: Uma História Vivida.
103. First Sogrape acquired the largest producer of table wines in the Dão region. It also acquired table-wine producers in the Bairrada and vinho verde regions. In 1987, Sogrape acquired the port-wine firm A. A. Ferreira, which also carried Barca Velha, the most prestigious brand of Portuguese table wines. Subsequently it acquired various vineyards and centers for vinification in the main wine regions of Portugal, including the Douro, Dão, Alentejo, Bairrada, and Vinho Verde. This move allowed Sogrape to diversify into the production of quality wines made of grapes denominated by area of origin. Barca Velha was launched in 1952 by Fernando Nicolau de Almeida, who worked for the Ferreira firm. Pereira, Sogrape: Uma História Vivida.
104. By 2002, after the acquisition of Sandeman, 40 percent of Sogrape's sales volume was generated by the port-wine business, 36 percent by table wines (including Mateus), 8 percent by sherry, 4 percent by its business in Argentina, and 12 percent by licensing agreements for the distribution of foreign companies' brands, such as Cutty Sark, Glenrothes, and Glengoyne (owned by Berry Brothers & Rudd) in the domestic market. "Cutty Sark Gets New Handler in Surging Portuguese Scotch Market," Impact International 31 (2001);
105. "Boa Rolha para a Sogrape," Semanário Económico (3 May 2003).
106. Heublein, Annual Report and Accounts (1965, 1971);
107. Grand Metropolitan, Annual Report and Accounts (1986).
108. Conceição Andrade Martins, "Survival and Renewal of Portuguese Family Wine firms, 1820-1999," paper presented at annual conference of the European Business History Association, Bordeaux, 15-16 Sept. 2000.
109. Plato Logic Limited, World Beer Report, 2004.
110. "75 Aniversário da Cerveja Super Bock," Revista dos Vinhos (Oct. 2002).
111. This consortium, called VTR SGPS, was formed by the holdings of a Portuguese family-owned bank. Its members were Banco Espírito Santo, Parfil, Fundação Bissaya Barreto, Olinveste, and Fundação Oriente.
112. Viacer-Sociedade Gestora de Participações Sociais owned 56 percent, and Carlsberg owned 44 percent. Unicer, Annual Report and Accounts (2001).
113. For a more detailed analysis of the topic discussed in this section, see Teresa da Silva Lopes, "Brands and the Evolution of Multinationals in Alcoholic Beverages," Business History 44, no. 3 (2002): 1-30.
114. Allied Breweries, Annual Report and Accounts (1961);
115. Gilbey's, Annual Report and Accounts (1962).
116. Interview with Michael Jackaman, former chairman of Allied Domecq (Somerset, 19 June 2000).
117. Monitor Group, Vini-Portugal: Initiatives for Action in the Portuguese Wine Cluster (29 May 2003).
118. With this acquisition, the leading Canadian multinational was able to enter the Portuguese market through established distribution channels and to acquire one of the very few Portuguese global brands. In 1973 Seagram also acquired the brandy firm Macieira. Interview with George Sandeman, former CEO of Sandeman (Porto, 19 January 2000).
119. Interview with Jack Keenan, former CEO of Diageo (London, 20 Oct. 2003);
120. interview with Thierry Jacquillat, former CEO of Pernod Ricard (London, 20 Jan. 2004);
121. interview with Julie Massies, business developer of Pernod Ricard (Paris, 11 June 2003).
122. Unwin, Wine and the Vine.
123. Interview with Michael Jackaman, former CEO of Allied Domecq (Somerset, 19 June 2000).
124. Interview with Colin Camphell, director general of Moët-Hennessy (Paris, 22 Nov. 1999).
125. Interview with Jack Keenan, former CEO of Diageo (Cambridge, U.K., 14 May 2003).
126. Interview with Cathryn Sleight, managing director of Allied Domecq Spirits and Wines, Harpers, 5 Apr. 2002.
127. After selling the brand, the Portuguese family firm, whose name was originally the same as the brand, changed its denomination to J. P. Vinhos SA.
128. There was, however, an important merger wave in port wine in the late 1950s. In 1955 Ferreira (previously Companhia Agricola e Comercial de Vinhos do Porto) created a consortium, Consórcio Vinicola do Porto Lda, jointly with J. H. Andresen and Soc. dos Vinhos do Porto Messias. This consortium acquired several very small port firms, which were subsequently split up between its members. Messias did not absorb any of the firms, since it left the consortium early. Two of the firms acquired by the consortium were Morgado & Silva, G. H. Sellers & Ferro. Both companies were acquired in 1955, when they were still part of the group Valente Costa. Soc. dos Vinhos Antonio Ferreira Menéres was acquired in 1958. Documents of the Consórcio Vinícola do Porto Lda, A. A. Ferreira Archive, Porto. Interview with Bernardo Campos, former director of A. A. Ferreira (Porto, 20 Feb. 2000).
129. See also Lopes, Internacionalização, 38-39.
130. See note 59.
131. Interview with Fernando Guedes, CEO of Sogrape (Porto, 4 July 2003);
132. "Company Watch: Bacardi," Canadean (London, 2003).
133. "Grupo Taylor compra a Croft e a Delaforce," Jornal de Notícias, 4 Sept. 2001.
134. Interview with Fernando Guedes, "Vamos fazer na Argentina Vinhos Varietais com a Marca Mateus," Revista de Vinhos (Nov. 1998).
135. This consortium was formed by Sogrape, José Maria da Fonseca, Caves Aliança, Quinta da Aveleda, Caves Messias, Finagra-Herdade do Esporão, and J. P. Vinhos.
136. Among the brands distributed by the consortium was Esporão, owned by Finagra, and the leading brand of vinho verde (green wine), Casai Garcia, created in 1947 and owned by Quinta da Aveleda. "67 com 75% das Exportações," Diário Económico, 8 Apr. 2003.
137. The port firms that were part of this consortium were Barão de Vilar, Vinhos C. N. Kopke, J. H. Andresen, Manoel D. Poças Junior, Sociedade Quinta do Portal, and Wiese & Krohn.
138. For example, Allied Breweries diversified into wines in 1966 with the acquisition of Harvey's, and into spirits in 1975 with the acquisition of the Scotch-whisky firm Teachers. Allied Breweries, Annual Report and Accounts (1967, 1976).
139. Few leading wine firms invested in the brewing sector. Those that did never achieved economic success. An example is Suntory, the leading Japanese producer of wines and spirits, which entered the brewing business in the early 19605 as an oligopolistic reaction to competitors like Kirin and Asahi Brewery. Interviews with Yoshi Kunimoto, vice president executive of Suntory, and with Kunimasa Himeno, manager of the International Division of Suntory International (Tokyo, 16 Sept. 1999).
140. They focused on a restricted number of traditional grape varietals that can be combined, such as Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, or Tinta Barroca in the Douro region. Cincinato da Costa, O Portugal Vinícola (Lisbon, 1900);
141. Domingos Soares Franco, senior oenologist of José Maria da Fonseca, interviewed by Wine and Spirit International (June 2002).
142. In this regard, the United Kingdom may be more the exception than the rule. Among the leading multinationals from the Netherlands and France, the global alcoholic beverage industry remains predominantly family owned though professionally managed.