Management Students Visit Italian Vineyard to Evaluate Business Opportunities

July 27, 2011

This summer, Dr. Mitch Casselman and MBA students in the Management 700 class on the Rome Campus are working with a new client sponsor,  Azienda Vinicola Talamonti srl, a family-owned vineyard located in the town of Loreto Aprutino (Abruzzi, Italy).

The company is a leading regional vineyard that supplies premium wine domestically and also exports their product to over 30 international markets. Talamonti executives are evaluating the possibility of opening a retail space in their area in order to market their products locally and improve distribution.

The students have been assigned the task of conducting market analysis and developing a business plan that would include cost analysis, marketing ideas, store recommendations and a strategy for the launch and management of a retail site.

To gain a deeper understanding of the company’s operations, the students spent a day touring the vineyard, the distribution center and the local town gathering valuable information on the company’s operations and the local consumer market. Afterwards, Talamonti employees offered the entire class a traditional meal at a local restaurant where students and executives spent time brainstorming their capstone project ideas.  Students will make their final business presentations to Talamonti on July 28, 2011.

Dr. Casselman and the students are grateful to the Talamonti organization and executive host Rodrigo Redmont for providing the group with helpful insights into the operations of Italian winemaking and wine distribution. 

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The Peter J. Tobin College of Business has provided a high-quality business education for over eighty years, offering individuals from throughout the world the opportunity to study in New York’s dynamic business environment.  The innovative curriculum emphasizes an analytic and hands-on understanding of business practice that prepares graduates to excel in today’s global marketplace.

For more information about this or other programs at the Peter J. Tobin College of Business, please contact Asia Hauter at (718) 990-6218 or hautera@stjohns.edu.