Riegele (Firm analysis)

Riegele is a family-owned brewery located in Augsburg, Germany. Founded in 1386, the company currently employs about 100 employees. Riegele produces many different types of beer, along with mineral water and Spezi (a mix of Fanta and Coke).
The company has many interesting strengths that help to make it a well established company. Starting in 1386, the company situated itself as one of the first buildings travelers would encounter as they entered the city, which made them extremely successful. This long tradition of excellent beer has made them a household name in Augsburg and the surrounding area, which is why they are so established in the area. Another strength of the company, which was self-described by the owner, is that the company thinks in generations instead of shareholders. The company is privately owned, and is currently owned by the 32nd generation. This mindset has allowed the company to provide excellent quality without having to worry about folding to the external pressure of shareholders and of being bought out by a larger company within Germany. A very interesting strength is the enjoyment that employees of Riegele get from working there. No one dislikes their job, and this enthusiasm spills over to their product. Every bottle of Riegele was expertly crafted by someone who cares about what they are doing, which is why they have been able to maintain such a high standard product among German beers.
Despite this, the company still possesses weaknesses. The cost of raw materials for beer (wheat, barley, hops) is rising, which could cause the price of beer to rise. Riegele only uses materials from local suppliers, while a larger company does not care from where they receive their ingredients, which could cause Riegele to experience a higher price shift than other companies. Along these lines, another weakness of the company is their size. Their output cannot keep up with some of the other German beer companies, which means their profit and market share are significantly less. This is not a large weakness though, because Riegele is not trying to be a worldwide beer distributor.
Riegele faces many threats from the external environment. The first threat, already mentioned and admittedly out of their direct control, is the fact that raw material costs are rising. This is going to cause their prices to go up if they want to continue to make profit. Riegele does not want this to happen, but unfortunately they have no control over the external prices of the materials. Another threat that Riegele faces from the external environment is the other German beer distributors. Germany is known as a center for fine quality beer for a reason, and they have many large companies within the country. Becks, Hofbräuhaus, Löwenbräu, Augustiner, and Paulaner are a few of the largest in the country and in Bavaria, which Riegele feels pressure from. These companies can output more beer at lower costs, and how Riegele competes with them will determine their survival in the industry.
Riegele is a very interesting company, and one that is of interest to a professional in business or engineering. Business students can appreciate how Riegele has stayed true to their roots and survived in an expanding and increasingly more competitive beer industry. Engineering students can appreciate how the company has stayed up with the most recent technological developments for brewing beer, and how the company has formed their distribution center to be as close to the target market as possible.