--CASE-South Delaware Coors, Inc.

Larry Brownlow was just beginning to realize the problem was more complex than he had thought. The problem, of course, was giving direction to Manson and Associates regarding what research should be completed by February 20, 1990, to determine market potential of a Coors beer distributorship for a two-county area in southern Delaware. With data from this research, Tarry would be able to estimate the feasibility of such an operation before the March 5 application deadline. Larry knew his decision on whether to apply for the distributorship was the most important career choice he had ever faced.

!"LARRY BROWNLOW
Larry was just completing his M.B.A. and, from his standpoint, the Coors announcement of expansion into Delaware could hardly have been better timed. He had long ago decided the best opportunities and rewards were in smaller, self-owned businesses and not in the jungles of corporate giants. Because of a family tragedy some three years earlier, Larry found himself in a position to consider small business opportunities such as the Coors distributorship. Approximately $500,000 was held in trust for Larry, to be dispersed when he reached age 30. Until then, Larry and his family were living on an annual trust income of about $40,000. It was on the basis of this income that Larry had decided to leave his sales engineering job and return to graduate school for his M.B.A. The decision to complete a graduate program and operate his own business had been easy to make. Although he could have retired and lived off investment income, Larry knew such a life would not be to his liking. Working with people and the challenge of making it on his own, Larry thought, were far preferable to enduring an early retirement. Larry would be 30 in July; about the time money would actually be needed to start the business. In the meantime, he had access to about $15,000 for feasibility research. Although there certainly were other places to spend the money; Larry and his wife agreed the opportunity to acquire the distributorship could not be overlooked.

!"COORS, INC.
Coors history dated back to 1873, when Adolph Coors built a small brewery in Golden, Colorado. Since then, the brewery had prospered and become the fourth-largest seller of beer in the country. Coors operating philosophy could be summed up as hard work, saving money, devotion to the quality of the product, caring about the environment, and giving people something to believe in. Company operation is consistent with this philosophy. Headquarters and most production facilities are still located in Golden, Colorado, with a new Shenandoah, Virginia, facility aiding in nationwide distribution. Coors is still family operated and controlled. The company had issued its first public stock, $127 million worth of nonvoting shares, in 1975.The issue was enthusiastically received by the financial community despite its being offered during a recession. Coors unwillingness to compromise on the high quality of its product is well known both to its suppliers and to its consuming public. Coors beer requires constant refrigeration to maintain this quality, and wholesalers facilities are closely controlled to