Marketing manager: Interview Firm 1: McDonald's McDonald's is seeking to diversify its product offerings and establish a 'classier' image as a company. It is also seeking to satisfy the needs of a more diverse customer base. To do so, it can expand its southwestern chicken offerings. It already features a sandwich with a southwestern flair and chipotle snack wraps. Offering a new chicken burger with salsa and Monterey Jack cheese and 'special edition' fries with southwestern seasoning and salsa dipping sauce would appeal to Latino consumers who are already loyal patrons of the chain, and to the larger American public, which is newly-infatuated with 'Tex-Mex' cuisine (Helm 2010). This type of sale could be considered 'low-hanging fruit.' McDonald's already has a substantial customer base amongst Latino customers. Fast food customers in general are enthusiastic consumers of Americanized Mexican food, as manifested in the popularity of Taco Bell. And McDonald's southwestern products are already popular sellers. The only risk is the additional expense that might be incurred manufacturing the limited edition fries. The overall sandwich, however, while caloric, is not likely to be much heavier than McDonald's other offerings. However, there might be media concerns about pandering to Latino consumers and encouraging Latinos to eat unhealthy food when the obesity rate amongst Latinos is higher than amongst whites (Helm 2010). Firm 2: Starbucks Starbucks currently is at a
The way that Burger King and other fast food restaurant chains do business and markets their products to consumers is due to the change in our society to where the consumer wants the biggest, fastest, and best product they can get for their money. This change in society can be attributed to a process known as McDonaldization. Although McDonaldization can be applied to many other parts of our society, this paper will focus on its impact on Burger King and Taco Bell restaurants. My belief is that the process of McDonaldization has lead our generations toward a more a much more efficient lifestyle, with much less quality. From my observations and studies of these fast food resturants, several themes have become
The ratio expresses the relationship of gross profit on sales to net sales in terms of percentage (Van Horne, Wachowicz & Bhaduri, 2005). Goss profit is the result of the relationship between prices, sales volume and costs. Gross profit margin of Starbucks Corporation is 23% whereas the ratio for McDonald’s is 35%. McDonald’s ratio is high as compared to Starbucks which is a sign of good management. It implies that the cost of production of the firm is relatively low. The McDonald’s has reasonable gross margin which ensures adequate coverage for operating expenses of the firm and sufficient return to the owners of the business, which is reflected in the net profit margin.
Starbucks Corporation, generally known, as Starbucks Coffee is the leading retailer and a brand of world’s forte coffee in the world, with more than 15,000 retail locations in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific Rim, wherever in this world where premium quality coffee is in demand. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world ahead of UK rival Costa Coffee, with 20737 stores in 63 countries and territories, including 11910 in the United States, 1496 in China, 1442 in Canada, 1052 in Japan and 772 in the United Kingdom. The first Starbucks was open in 1970. The name was inspired from Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, a definitive American novel regarding the 19th century whaling industry. The nautical name matches seamlessly for a store that imports the world’s finest coffees to the cold thirsty people of Seattle. In May 1998, Starbucks have finally successfully entered the European market through its acquirement of 65 Coffee Company stores initially originated from Seattle in the UK. Both companies shared a common culture, focusing on a great commitment to customized coffee, similar company values and a mutual respect.
Within today’s modern society we like to have everything when we want and have it at any given time. Growing with that trend, modern fast food places like McDonald’s and In-N-Out Burger have giving their consumers that very thing. Even though In and out and McDonald’s have been around for years, both vary their menus and the way they appeal to their consumers with the change of time. On the west coast, In-N-Out is favored more than it is on the east coast. While McDonald’s is a worldwide company, with restaurants open in France, China, Iraq, and also America. Who is the better franchise; it is time to find out.
McDonald’s has been in business since 1955. It has positioned itself in the market as a low-priced, fast food restaurant focusing on hamburgers and other convenience foods. The company is currently faced with competition from Chipotle, a restaurant which offers fast and healthy Mexican food in the fast-casual dining segment. Both restaurants are competing for customer dollars and while they both offer fast convenience there are differences in their food offerings. McDonald’s has always offered a fast, basic meal at a low price. In comparison, Chipotle offers fresh, quality Mexican food fast at a low price. Analyst have suggested that Chipotle would bring an end to the fast food burger chains that have long dominated the industry. McDonald’s must determine if Chipotle is a competitive threat and if so how to address the threat in the market.
REFERENCES•www.mcdonalds.com, accessed on 18 July, 2008•www.mcdonldsindia.net, accessed on 18 July, 2008•en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald's, accessed on 19 July, 2008•http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/263943/mcdonalds_strategic_marketing_mix.html?cat=4, accessed on 19 July, 2008•www.kfc.com, accessed on 25 August, 2008
Starbucks financial statements were analyzed for the fiscal year ended September 27, 2015. Like all public companies, annual and quarterly financial statements are required to allow regulators and other interested parties to analyze the financial status and management decision making of the company. This analysis focuses on the results of Starbucks most recent published annual report containing their balance sheets, statement of earnings and cash flows. These statements will be analyzed against the results of one of its competitors, Dunkin Donuts, to investigate how the two companies compare to each other. It was noted that Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts do not have corresponding fiscal year ends. The data therefore is not directly comparable since the reports do not reflect the same time period of data but should provide additional insight. The paper will attempt to provide a brief analysis of Starbucks operations in terms of its liquidity, leverage, activity, profitability and growth ratios used by analysts in the industry.
This continuous study is a descriptive one, though it encompasses characteristics of the exploratory research. The study will be descriptive to the extent that it creates data structures that describe the existing characteristics of the marketing situation at McDonalds. It will collect data about customer attitudes, purchasing behavior, customer satisfaction, competition and other marketing issues that will allow the decision maker to understand consumer behavior and identify trends that might suggest changes needed in the marketing strategies.
Fast food restaurants are one of the most stable industries in the world today. Eateries of this order offer a cheap and convenient alternative to traditional dining. There are many very popular fast food franchises. Perhaps the two most popular of these are McDonald's and Burger King. These titans of the industry have targeted the same demographic over the course of several decades, sparking heated debate among friends as to which of the two is superior. In many ways they are the same, but there are also differences.
By analyzing consumer preferences and satisfaction across different areas of fast food and especially those of Wendy’s fast food stores and those in the macro fast food environment and employing proper analysis to gain an in-depth understanding into these trends, will allow for the understanding of trends in the market and to then be able to target weaker areas where Wendy’s might be lacking. The successful application of strategy to this areas could potentially lead to a number of results or a combination of, including an increase in profitability, market share and/or customer satisfaction, among others.
Accounting helps to measure an organizations activities, process data into reports, and translate the results to decision makers. Financial statements and reports help to present the company to the public in financial terms. The information on these data statements can used to evaluate the company through vertical and horizontal analysis. Vertical analysis is the proportional analysis of a financial statement. Normally, vertical analysis is done with a financial statement over a period of time. When using vertical analysis, a line item on a financial statement is listed as a percentage of another item (Harrison, 2015). A horizontal analysis is the comparison of information or ratios over a series of reporting periods. Horizontal analysis helps investors and analysts to control how a company has grown over time. Analysts and investors could use horizontal analysis to compare a company's growth rates in relation to its competitors and industry.
While McDonald’s and Burger King have fought over a percentage of the same market share, each company has a unique strategy with which they’ve approached the market. McDonald’s aims to deliver an inexpensive, standard, quality meal with high level of uniformity both in burger structure and in delivery times. Burger King also strives for an inexpensive, quality meal, but focuses on allowing the customer a degree of flexibility in the menu – a goal reflected in their long-time slogan, “Have it your way.” This difference results in distinct objectives for each restaurant that resonate
The company that I am writing about is Starbucks, the international coffee shop chain. The company's financial statements for this analysis are from the FY2011 Annual Report and 10-K. The company has 10787 stores in the United States, of which 38% are franchised and the remainder are company-owned. The franchise model is more common when the company operates internationally. There are 6216 Starbucks stores internationally and of these 63% are franchises, with just 37% company-owned. The franchise model for international expansion has been utilized to help Starbucks expand quickly in foreign countries and to mitigate foreign political risk and to ensure that the product/service offering is tailored to local tastes (Thompson, 2012). The company is now in the process of buying back some overseas franchise stores in order to retain more profits for itself (Franchise Press, 2011). This paper will take a look at the company's most recent annual report to analyze the financial statements.
Consumer behavior is closely connected with the interactive market as well as products and services. (Peter, Olson, 2010) This report is aim to develop the KFC restaurant in Norwich strategically by analyzing the consumer behavior and interactive markets. Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is a global fast food brand from America which is popular for its fried chicken. (Bell, Shelman, 2011) The quantities of KFC stores increased rapidly all over the world and there is large potential to gain profit and expand the market share among fast food restaurants. (Yum Brand Annual Report, 2015) To develop the brand, it is necessary to enlarge the
Since McDonald’s is the most well know fast food chain in the world with a market cap of 69.35 billion, brand recognition is their biggest strength. The secret of McDonald’s success is its willingness to innovate and maintain consistency in the operation of its many outlets. In recent years McDonald’s has introduced Premium Salads, Snack Wraps, fresh Apple Dippers in the United States, and Corn Cups in China. Also, McDonald 's products are priced so low that economic conditions are almost insignificant.