In 2011, bars/cafes grew by 4% in terms of current value to reach sales of 4.7 billion dollars of which 15% is revenue from smoothies sold in Canada bars. The smoothie bars have shown an increasing trend in the recent past, and this explains a corresponding growth in their market. There is also a fierce competition in the organic food market. In 2011, around 174 new vegetable /fruit and nectar products entered the US market. It was a threat to Bolthouse Farm despite the fact that the company produces quality beverages.
Kudler Inventory Data Analysis ACC/542 Kudler Inventory Data Analysis Inventory control is very important for Kudler Food Co. because managers must be able to track the exact daily number of each item sold or purchased on the menu. Considering that food costs are usually the largest expense for restaurants, Kudler’s managers also need to have control on what ingredients are used as they are reflected in the inventory. Like any other restaurant, Kudle is challenged with many contingencies that can affect the variation of the inventory. For instance, an employee would accidentally damage items during the cooking process, deterioration may happen due to a banquet cancellation, or a new cook is improving the menu and other variations
The five forces include; threat of entry of new competitors, the bargaining power of suppliers, the bargaining power of customers, the threat of substitute products or services and the rivalry among existing firms in the industry. An example of Kudler’s strategies aimed at each of these five forces is discussed below. Kudler uses differentiation and focus strategies to meet the threats of any new competitors by being unique in its industry. Kudler is an upscale specialty food store catering to the epicurean delights. Kudler has created a niche market.
Rivalry in the grocery industry is a strong competitive force for several reasons. First, companies are using competitive weapons such as sales specials, coupons, company card to save additional money, and high use of advertising. Second, customers switching cost is low. Last, competitors are becoming equal in size and therefore able to achieve similar results. In this case, Winn Dixie, Publix, and Wal-Mart are the main competing firms within the industry in my area.
Brief Case: Reliance Baking Soda Situation Analysis: Reliance Baking Soda is an established mature product that is common in households. The product is sold through several types of retailers and is often sold through promotions at both the consumer and trade level. As the year 2008 quickly approaches the domestic brand director is tasked to increase profits by 10% before SGA, overhead, and taxes in order to fund the launch of two new high priority products by 2008. Problem Definition: Baking soda is a boring product that has low turnover. Furthermore the brand has the current advertising campaign emphasizing on different ways to use baking soda can be assumed to not be very effective since advertising recollection is low.
Pillsbury Cookie Challenge Written Analysis of Case Advanced and Applied Business Research Prepared By: Muhammad Mudassar Shahid ERP ID (01094) Submitted To: Ms. Huma Amir Pillsbury Cookie Challenge Written Analysis of Case Advanced and Applied Business Research Prepared By: Muhammad Mudassar Shahid ERP ID (01094) Submitted To: Ms. Huma Amir Institute of Business Administration February 17, 2014 Institute of Business Administration February 17, 2014 Executive Summary This case is based on the research conducted by General Mills Canada Corporation (GMCC) to define key variables to impact the consumers so as to improve the sales of Pillsbury in their Refrigerated Baked Goods (P-RBG) category. The variables researched up on included factors such as the taste, usage and purchasing pattern of the RBG cookies. They study was also extended to the brand image and product attributes, based on qualitative research; which consisted on surveys and ethnographic studies. According the results of this study, it was found that GMCC was focusing too much up on the product itself while trading off on key consumer insights. Moreover, the target positioning of the product was a misfit for the product category.
External Analysis Industry rivalry: High According to the case Chipotles leading competitors are Taco bell, Moe’s southwest grill, Qdoba and smaller chains Baja fresh and California tortillas. Fast food restaurants (such as Chipotle) that offer fresh quality ingredients are a threat to other regular fast food restaurants and are viewed as main attributable loss of customers. However the top competitors are able to offer and same services as Chipotle. Threat of Substitutes: Moderate Chipotles food offerings can be substituted with store bought ingredients. Also with the increase in stores offering a selection of organic ingredients, customers can opt to making their own burritos at home.
Porters five force model is “a framework for industry analysis and business strategy development.” (Porter, 2008, p68-104) The loss of the patent broke the barrier of entry into the market hence there was a high threat of new entrants. Buyer power was low because of the high premium price for a cup of Dippin Dots ice cream, the most common buyers were people who grew up on it. The threat of substitutes was high as there were many alternatives customers could opt for in the frozen food section. Competition in Dippin Dots industry was stiff, there were two large companies that dominated the industry, 500 small businesses and other family owned businesses that all produced ice cream. Question 2 A value chain is “a chain of activities for a firm operating in a specific industry.” ( Porter 1996, p61-78) Dipping Dots ice cream was produced from super freezing of chemicals and liquid cream by process called flash freezing
Until mid of 2004, the company faced a lot of problems which included declining in sales, falling revenues, failing franchisees, closing stores, having problems with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over false and misleading financial statement, and law suits. These leaded KKD to hold back the expansion plans that had been projected. In late 2005, the stock traded around $6 per share, down almost 90% from its all-time high of close to $50 per share. The new strategy had been executed which focused more on a specialty retail strategy than a wholesale bakery strategy, promoted sales at company’s own retail stores and used the ‘hot doughnut experience’ as marketing tactic with customers . An additional strategy is to expand the number of outlets nationally using both company owned stores and area franchisees.
Growth of competition, not just from other coffee restaurants but from big-time fast-food restaurants like Krispy Kreme, McDonalds or Dunkin Donuts. These restaurants added gourmet coffee to their menus. Also a problem could be that the competition was not following the same patterns or trends as Starbucks, but making their own and new ones. Management decision making on the expanding policy could have resulted in the declining performance. B.