Analysis of the spirits industry and competition in Croatia

• Published in: Problems and Perspectives in Management 2008, Vol.6 (4), p.12-23
• Main Author: Kovac, Ivan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alcohol industry; Competition; Croatia; Economics
• ISSN: 1727-7051; 1810-5467

The purpose of this paper is to search the role that competition plays in defining the spirits market in Croatia. In this paper main rivals, their strategies, goals, strengths and weaknesses are analyzed. There are ten home-based producers of spirits on the Croatian market. Badel 1862 is at the leading position. Apart from Croatian and foreign literature, the author has also used the results of a few recent studies for the purposes of this study. He also used unsystematical data which he found in different government institutions. All data have been presented in a coherent and systematic way. Research has been conducted on field using the method of polling 21 respondents which deal with wholesale of spirits in Croatia. The main hypothesis of this work is that the increasing competition of imported spirits constitutes the main threat on the Croatian market. Alongside with the main hypothesis in this work, 3 supporting hypotheses have also been tested. The first supporting hypothesis is that the competition of Croatian producers in the home-market has remained unchanged in the last few years. The second supporting hypothesis is that the main weakness of home-based spirits producers is not having global brands and their concentration on the local market. The third is that the main factors of success on the spirits market are strong marketing and accessibility of products on market. The research conducted has shown that the part of imported spirits will grow in consumption of spirits in Croatia, which will make the competition threat even worse. The presence of foreign imported brands constitutes a threat for home-based industry of spirits in terms of price and consumption competition, and range compatibility that suits the demands of modern consumers. With almost unchanged rivalry and possession of global brands, home-based producers are mostly focused on the local market, which represents their main weakness. The researches have shown that the most important factors of success on the Croatian spirits market are marketing-support and accessibility of products on the market. Adapted from the source document.