Strengths, weakness, opportunity and threats (SWOT)
Disucss about Oporto Restaurant a well established fast food outlet globally and has its headquarters in New South Wales.
The purpose of this review is coming up with an International Business plan whereby a company is to extend operation of its goods and services abroad. The company chosen in this case study is Oporto Restaurant. It is fast food restaurant based which is based Australia and the theme is Portuguese with its headquarter based in New South Wales and was founded in 1986. It has around 600 fast food outlets in Australia and abroad. The company specializes in burgers and chicken. Our aim is to expand the business and export to another country. After through research, we found a ready market in New York City in USA. The research will encompass on the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis of the company weighted for export only. The research also encompasses on the GAP of the business and also encompasses on the marketing strategy evaluation in order to have a competitive advantage to their rivals in New York. I have also identified the main rival that Oporto Restaurant will face in New York in the fast food industry. After that, the research takes a look at the export market model validation that will best suit Oporto Restaurant. In order to evaluate the position in which Oporto Restaurant will stand, we look into competitive advantage and position evaluation and there after look at the marketing strategic mix. After that we will look at the product / service specification.
Strengths, weakness, opportunity and threats (SWOT)
The SWOT has been weighted for the purpose of export only.
Break down of the SWOT of Oporto Restaurant is as follows:
Strengths
- The franchise meets the global quality of standards required.
- It has a wide range of across its network thus is able to manage numerous outlets.
- It markets itself on the basis of fresh foods, for example advocating in fresh food rather than frozen and also grilled rather than fried.
- It follows the laid down procedures for food preparation recipes and quick serving.
Weaknesses
- It changes little or none of its products and the menu never changes for long periods of time.
- There is a high expenditure on employee training due to high rate their turnover.
- Has not invested towards organic foods.
Opportunities
- It keeps up trend with food innovation and able to provide customer specification diet in regards to their tastes and preferences.
- Has capacity to target growing markets abroad and tap in to share or dominate the profits.
Threats
- The international currency rates can be of detriment to its operations abroad.
GAP is an analysis which entails details of where the company is at present and where they want to be in the future or the company’s ambitions. Hill and Brierley (2017).
Currently, Oporto Restaurant operates in India, Australia, New Zealand and the Britain. The company’s ambition is to go beyond boundaries in order to come up with new ways the company can boost profits in each of its stores both domestically and abroad. Food and Council (2014).
Marketing strategy evaluation is a plan for the long run which seeks to create a strategy to help it have an edge over its competitors. Armstrong, (2015).
First we have to identify the key competitors in the USA and they are McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) and Pizza Hut. Iyer et al ( 2015).
Gap analysis of Oporto restaurant
Springer, Cham.The company has to look critically and analytically at the three companies SWOT and try to find a way to come up with better strategies to topple them in their home market New York. The company also has to have an insight on the target customers to know their tastes and preferences and an opinion of what they expect from the fast food industry. This can be done via online surveys to reduce costs. They also look at potential suppliers, potential entrant companies and the substitutes available. Also it helps to know the potential profits anticipated from the market in order to know how much to invest or if the business will be viable and the expected breakeven point. Hair et al (2015).
This involves two aspects, that is; the non equity model and the equity model. The non-equity model entails a firm satisfying their customers’ abroad by outsourcing goods manufactured from their home country. In this case, Oporto Restaurant would export packed foods to the USA. But due their marketing strategy of serving fresh foods rather than frozen and a vast endowment of resources, Oporto Restaurant will use the equity model. The equity model involves ownership of assets in the USA and contractual agreements such as business licenses. Vahlne, and Johanson, (2017).
Competitive advantage is a situation whereby a company has an upper hand to their rivals in a given industry making it more superior to them. Competitive advantage can be obtained by providing what your rivals are not and also improving on what they are already offering. Having already identified the three main rivals as mentioned above (McDonalds, KFC and Pizza Hut) and their SWOT, Oporto Restaurant evaluates their weaknesses and how to exploit them. It does so by comparing the rival companies’ SWOT and theirs and it capitalizes on the areas it edges them while on the other hand looking into ways to improve on other areas they are beaten or at par. After such analysis, Oporto Restaurant will be able to evaluate their position with regards to their rival. West, Ford, and Ibrahim,( 2015).
Marketing mix is a set manageable and shrewd tools that a firm uses to get to their set goals and expected responses from their potential market and clients. Marketing mix is crucial as it multiplies a firm’s profits. Baker, (2014).
There are several marketing strategy mix but in this case Oporto Restaurant will use price, product, promotion and place commonly known as the 4P’s of marketing. The following is a brief elaboration of the 4 P’s:
- Products – these are the goods and services the customer will offer its customers. The products are the food while services are intangible and include the services offered by our employees like time taken to deliver an order. It is crucial to understand this so as to make the product unique. With this comes product differentiation from those of our rivals. Rowley, (2016).
- Price – Once we have a firm decision on the products to be offered, we will now look at the prices to be set. Price is very important since it will affect demand and profitability ratio. Also same product may have varying prices due to the services accompanying them. Here we will put the perceived value of our product into consideration and the information will be gained from interaction with the potential customers. Tomczak, Reinecke and Kuss (2018).
- Promotion – promotion is now making the customers aware of the products we will offer and the prices set for them. Methods of promotion will depend on the targeted market and they include social media, newspaper adverts and billboards among others.
- Place – After the above 3 P’s now we have to find a location that is convenient to both the customer and the business. Factors that will influence location are security and attractive among others. This helps turn potential customers to actual customers. Fan, Lau and Zhao (2015).
Market strategy evaluation
Since we are in the food industry, we will look at specification in terms of quality management of food. Product specification will be contained in a document known as the Product Specification Document. The document will include general details of the product, that is; method of production, ingredients used, expiry date where applicable, nutritional value, chemical properties and physical properties such as net weight among others. It gives the customer confidence of our products and they also have detailed information of what they are consuming. Also, the health authorities are able to confirm that we have met the specified rules and regulations governing the industry. Stark, (2015).
Conclusion
After doing as discussed in the report above, it is now safe to conclude that Oporto Restaurant can launch food outlets in New York and be a success. However, we should apply what we researched in order to succeed. On the other hand, it will not be smooth sailing as we expect to encounter stiff competition from the three rival companies mentioned previously since they are well established firms and have vast experience in New York and USA in general. Initially Oporto Restaurant should target to break even as a measure of how the business will fair. With time, the business will learn on mistakes and capitalize on our strengths to increase our profitability. The only challenge will be to harmonize our salaries with those of our rivals.
References
Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Harker, M. and Brennan, R., 2015. Marketing: an introduction. Pearson Education.
Baker, M.J., 2014. Marketing strategy and management. Palgrave Macmillan.
Fan, S., Lau, R.Y. and Zhao, J.L., 2015. Demystifying big data analytics for business intelligence through the lens of marketing mix. Big Data Research, 2(1), pp.28-32.
Food, A. and Council, G., 2014. Quick service restaurant initiative for responsible advertising and marketing to children. Australian Food and Grocery Council.
Hair Jr, J.F., Wolfinbarger, M., Money, A.H., Samouel, P. and Page, M.J., 2015. Essentials of business research methods. Routledge
Hill, N. and Brierley, J., 2017. How to measure customer satisfaction. Routledge.
Iyer, G.R., Grewal, D., Javalgi, R. and Radulovich, L., 2015. Franchise Expansion into International Markets: The Role of Entrepreneurial Orientation and Knowledge Resources. In Cultural Perspectives in a Global Marketplace (pp. 120-121). Springer, Cham
Rowley, J., 2016. Information marketing. Routledge.
Stark, J., 2015. Product lifecycle management. In Product Lifecycle Management (Volume 1) (pp. 1-29). Springer, Cham
Tomczak, T., Reinecke, S. and Kuss, A., 2018. Introduction. In Strategic Marketing (pp. 1-18). Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden.
Vahlne, J.E. and Johanson, J., 2017. The internationalization process of the firm—a model of knowledge development and increasing foreign market commitments. In International Business (pp. 145-154). Routledge.
West, D.C., Ford, J. and Ibrahim, E., 2015. Strategic marketing: creating competitive advantage. Oxford University Press, USA.
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