CASE 13 Corona Beer: From a Local Mexican Player to a Global Brand ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS 1. What are the dominant business and economic characteristics of the global beer industry? 2. What do you see as the key success factors for firms in the global beer industry? 3. What does a strategic group map of the global beer industry look like? How strongly is Grupo Modelo positioned in the industry? How favorably does it compare with its closest Mexican rival FEMSA? How favorably does Grupo Modelo's position compare to that of Heineken? 4. What are the resource strengths and weaknesses of Grupo Modelo? What competencies and capabilities does it have that its chief rivals don't have? What market opportunities does Grupo Modelo have? What threats do you see to the company's future well being? What conclusions can we draw from the SWOT analysis for Grupo Modelo? 5. What is your assessment of Grupo Modelo's financial performance and financial condition from Exhibit 6 in the case? Is the company in good financial shape? Why or why not? Please use the financial ratios in Table 4.1 in Chapter 4 to develop calculations in support of your assessment of the company's financial performance. 6. Is competition in the global beer industry best characterized as global or multi-country? Why? Which type of international strategy discussed in Chapter 7 is Grupo Modelo using in its international operations? How does this compare to the strategies of FEMSA and Heineken? What are the strengths and weaknesses of Grupo Modelo's international strategy versus those of its main rivals? 7. Based on your analysis of the global beer industry and Grupo Modelo's situation, what problems and issues does the company's top management need to address? Which ones are top priorities? Which are low priorities? How concerned should Grupo Modelo be about the potential merger between InBev and Anheuser-Busch? 8. What actions would you recommend to Carlos Fernandez to help Grupo Modelo sustain or improve its competitive position, especially its international operations, and its long-term financial performance