Complete SWOT Analysis of McDowell’s – India’s Best Selling Whisky Brand

Products of McDowell’s

              (Source: Google Images)

The following products have been a signature to the company’s brand. Its products include:

• Spirits 
• Bottled Water
• Soda

Close Competitor of McDowell’s

McDowell’s competes globally as it launched its products worldwide. Its main competitors are:

• Imperial Blue
• Royal Stag
• Officer’s Choice    
• Original Choice
• Hayward’s Fine

After understanding the core of the company, let us now proceed to the SWOT Analysis of McDowell’s. 

SWOT Analysis of McDowell’s

SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This analysis is used to easily analyze these aspects and consider them in developing strategies and decisions.

To better understand the SWOT Analysis of McDowell’s, refer to the infographic below:

Now let us start delving into the SWOT analysis of McDowell’s, by starting with its strengths.

Strength of McDowell’s

• No. of Employees: Since the company has fewer employees, they can establish good management. It will be advantageous in building an employee-employer relationship.
• Internal Control: It is an advantage to the company having effective internal control as it incorporates their wide SAP system.
• Production: By improving the capacity of the distilling plant, the current production may be expanded. This can be an advantage to provide demand and increase the capability of the company to handle the dynamic status of demand.
• Innovation: The company is always aiming for development and innovation. Due to their advanced facilities and equipment, they can ensure that their product is of its utmost quality ensuring value to consumers.
• Location: Because of the location of the company, it has an ease of access to resources such as water, supplies, and even has the advantage of logistics.
• Ethics: Given the discipline sustained in the company, either internal or external, it can have a smooth and continuous operation.

Weakness of McDowell’s

• Limited Profit: Since the company depends on the abkari policy (Kerala Excise) the profit is deemed limited and decided by the government.
• Logistic Costs: The main ingredient of their product is molasses which is bought in other states. This results in higher transportation costs which can affect the profitability of the business.
• Limited Marketing: Due to the government’s strict policy about liquor advertisement, the introduction of the brand is limited.

Opportunities of McDowell’s

• Exposed to Western Culture: The modern youth’s preference is dynamic. They are susceptible when it comes to changing their mindset about liquor consumption. Given the influence of western culture, they are bound to become liberated when it comes to the idea of alcoholic beverages.
• India’s Population: Most of the population in India are aged 35 which is considered as the major liquor consumption group.
• Huge Possible Market: There is still a huge portion of the population that may become the prospective consumers of the company. With this, it is seen as an opportunity for the company to continuously operate in the long run.

Threats of McDowell’s

• Entry of Foreign Market: McDowell’s is very dominant mainly in India. However, it would be a threat to the company when a foreign market decides to enter the market. They can either provide a much higher quality of products at a cheaper and affordable price.
• Over-taxation and Regulation: Since the company offers alcoholic beverages, they cannot escape their tax dues and strict government policies. Taxes on these types of beverages continue to rise. Regulations are becoming stricter and tighter. These can be a hindrance to the operation and profitability of the company in the long run.
• Increase of Input Costs: Due to higher taxes, the product and conversion costs may become higher than normal. This can lead to higher relevant expenses which decrease the profit if the sales are uncontrolled. They can lead to the decision of increasing the product price because of the rise in their expenses.
• Competitors’ Low Prices: The company may be challenged to control its prices as compared to its main competitors. Other competitors have lower prices compared to them. Consumers may opt to purchase cheaper products but provide the same quality.

This ends our detailed SWOT analysis of McDowell’s. Let us conclude our learnings below.

To Conclude

McDowell’s is the largest liquor brand in India. It has proven its successful name by venturing globally. With the presented SWOT Analysis of McDowell’s, it has strong internal aspects in terms of its location, employees, and production. Having good internal management may reflect on its operations. Internal control and code of ethics are significant in ensuring the flow of the transactions happening inside the company.

Given the increase in competition, competitors having the most appropriate marketing strategy are winning over the consumers. Effective marketing is a necessity for businesses to survive and going digital is the only way. 

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