COURSE TITLE: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

Read the attached Case Study on Santini Ice Creams. Based on the Case Study, complete a SWOT Analysis. Your answer should be in the form of the SWOT Matrix Diagram, and not an essay.

Important Note: This case study is 100 marks, and is 10% of My final grade.

CASE STUDY: Santini Ice Cream

Since the beginning, Santini is positioned as a premium brand with a traditional value. Nationally and internationally recognized, the quality of the product and the excellence in the service are some factors of the outstanding success. Seen as a brand with added value once people try it, they feel engaged with the brand, a feeling of belonging, unique and fantastic experience. Individually or socially, most of the time consumers come back. Mostly with word of mouth since the last 60 years Santini is being promoted and people from all over the world cannot resist to try it whether in their original shop in Cascais, in S. Joo do Estoril or in their recently shop in Lisboa downtown. With an incredible and ravish success, eat a Santini is the expression frequently used to express the desire for this brand.

Quickly, Santini become a trend, further more than just an ice-cream, it brings all of a nostalgic experience, a social moment, an escape from the day by day life. Giving all this success, why not become bigger? Indeed, this was intention of the owners, Santini family. However they never find the needed human and production capability for it. Besides, the most important, and the biggest, concern during the all process is to maintain the excellence and the quality of the product, the added value recognized by the consumer.

The Past

Attlio Santini arrived from Italy to Portugal in the middle of the last century and in 1949 opened the first Santini store in Estoril. Attlio had a long and arduous journey to make his family business established. Years later, with the success of its first store, he opened a second store in Cascais. Santini family made huge efforts and invested a lot in the last decades in order to be successful. As a result, nowadays, its ice-creams are considered by many as the best, not only by the frequent consumers that live near Cascais, but also by those, from all over the country, that do not lose an opportunity to go to Santini store. As they themselves proclaim the best ice creams in the world. The Santini family was able to build a brand that is described as an ice cream store of "reference for his nobility of character and a natural sympathy."

The Present

Santinis Expansion Strategy Santini is growing. Recently, the brand opened the third shop and reopened the shop in S. Joo. Right now, there are 3 shops: in Cascais, in S. Joo and in Lisboa downtown. It is clear that an expansion strategy was already being thought about. In fact, it was clear the increased on clients needs, expressed in customers behaviour. Indeed, Eduardo Santini, founders grandson and currently Head of the company, was looking for the ideal partner, as on its own Santini didnt have the needed resources. The original family decided to remain focused on the production process, so they had to choose someone able to design and manage the best strategy to expand. In 2009, Eduardo Santini found the ideal partner in another renamed family in Portugal, Botton. As negotiations progressed, 50% of the company was sold to them. Botton own an important Portuguese company, Logoplaste, responsible for producing plastic containers worldwide. Given the logistic capacity and the companys dimension, Logoplaste owners were an ideal partner to proceed with projects of Santini. Besides, Botton were long-time confidence and trustful friends of Santinis family and were well aware of the new challenges. New partners become mainly responsible for the management department: expansion to new point of sales, new stores, refresh image, closer communication. The new manager, Martim Botton, is quite dynamic, innovative and brings the development scope company needs. Within the last two years, consumers can confirm that the production process of the ice-cream is the same and neither the quality neither the service has changed a bit. Every morning the ice-creams are made by Santini family members. Evidently, the production quantity have doubled or tripled, in order to give response to the demand of consumers; demand has increased as reflect of an augment in sales on the shop, but also in restaurants. The long experience and delicate sensitivity of producers allow them to calculate the daily amount needed and produce only that specific amount so that it maintains the recognized fresh ice cream everyday. Before the acquisition, shops were only open during the peak summer months: June, July and August and on weekends. The small size of the Cascais Shop, the lack of human resources, and the insufficient industry production were some of the reasons for this decision. Also, there was so much hard work during these 3 months that it was enough to sustain closed doors, during the rest of the year. Nevertheless, after the restructuration owners have the capabilities to maintain the shops open whole year. It is expected to see some decreases on winter months; nevertheless the new approach comes up with a Bakery and Cakes sector, to compensate losses. Hot pancakes or brownies, can be a future offer, as it claims clients attention and still incentive consume of ice-creams and complement; indeed it is a reasonable decision, mainly in Lisbon, whether it is winter or autumn people still coming and passing by in front of the store. Presently the team is focused on the ice-cream business; the forecast is fairly encouraging to the next years. Santinis innovative character, especially concerning ice-cream flavours, offers news every week, which attracts new clients. Regularly, as consumers can follow on the Brands Facebook Page there are new flavours launches, depending on the fresh fruit seasonality: melon and cherries only in the summer; chocolate, strawberry and lemon whole year. Most of the times, with creativity and imagination, Santini comes up with the most exciting mixtures, whether with aromatic herbs (pineapple and mint) or with liquors (raspberry with Sambuca, an Italian liqueur). Furthermore, there are some offers with non fruit flavours, clients can find sparkling wine with mint, light flavours, the usual chocolate, sweet egg-pinion.

The Future

The managers plans intend to go further and reach more people. They dont pretend to slow downward, despite the crisis is a threat. Next steps are to build a new factory in order to respond to the clients demand. In addition, some of the projects foresee to embrace higher national coverage, beyond Lisboa and its surroundings. Keep on working and investing; on logistic growth so that the brand achieves new points of sales and gains higher recognition. However the most important value that all collaborators and family members claim is that the important thing is to ensure the quality that we promise! Another step Santini is regarding is to create their home delivery system. They already tried home delivery through internet using external logistics but it didnt go well. In home delivery it is even more important to assure the quality of ice cream in a short time. As we can realize, Santini managers are very interested in finding a way to increase their revenues and are looking for sweeping expansion strategies.