CBAD-478*5 Rogers’ Chocolates I-case Strategic Assessment Report November 13, 2012 Dr. Janice Black Dara Servis Executive Summary Rogers’ Chocolates specializes in a wide variety of premium chocolates that are enjoyed by all who experience the products. Whether looking for a truffle, nut and chews, or premium ice cream, consumers can always expect high quality, handcrafted products. The firm prides themselves on high quality products and unique customer experience. Throughout the dissection there were many opportunities and weaknesses to uncover. Strong consumer loyalty is an important strength that can help increase word-of-mouth of the brand. Many people look for information for new brands online through websites, reviews, …show more content…
Hand processed and wrapped chocolates need to become part of the past except for possibly putting that final touch on a premium product line. They need to streamline and automate their production in order to improve the efficiency of their plant before they expand. They will need to compete in price and have the production capability to mass produce the planned lower end chocolate product line. Additionally the company needs to look to lower cleaning costs and reduce set up times. Due to the company’s workplace culture, this will have to be implemented carefully. Rogers’ relies heavily on their British Columbia geographic segment which is where most of their retail stores are located. In the future Rogers’ Chocolate should consider branching out and testing other geographic areas for their retail stores. The wholesale business should be expanded though a selective process to acquire additional profitable wholesalers. The wholesale operational segment is an excellent vehicle to build sales without much capital expenditure. They will steadily increase Rogers’ sales and profits. An increase in sales and strong customer brand awareness will be created by the use of a well-executed web site design. This will serve as an asset to their loyal customers and attract potential younger customers. This firm has several critical stages on their value chain;
The premium chocolate industry is a large market in the United States and continues to grow around 10% annually. It is also populated with very strong
At Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker, Jim Harris was the COO (chief operation officer) and was with the company for about 18 months and was observing the increased demand for their chocolate. “America’s finest dark chocolate” company wanted to increase production by equipping factories with new machineries and equipment but did not want any difference in the taste of the chocolates they produced. As the company totally agrees on not compromising the taste of chocolates and increase the production in order to meet the rising demand for their chocolates they should probably get into customizing chocolates blend for the mass-market retailer in order to grab huge market share, increase accessibility of the chocolate to customers and provide variety of choice to the customers by maintaining the taste they are known for. As the demand is increasing from 50%, 100%, to 150% by the start of 2006, Harris has to make a significant decision in order to invest Scharffen’s capital budget in expansion of the Company. Harris is recommended to acquire the required machinery in order to fasten the production and increase the capacity of the plant and should be careful about the quantity to be produced as the acquiring of machinery will increase productivity multiple times but the initial demand for
Haigh’s Chocolate provides quality products and service throughout Australia and make sure to produce only the best raw materials from
Clare’s Chocolate Cafes has always used good quality cocoa to make their chocolate products. This is, in itself, an amazing marketing product because customers know that while they may be paying a little bit more, the product is worth it. As well, the organization makes a wise customer draw when each hot beverage is served with a high quality chocolate product. The early practice of making chocolate products by hand and providing individual or pre-packaged products, of all sizes, for the customer to select, was
Hershey’s and Cadburys are moving towards the premium chocolate market through the acquisition or upmarket launches (Zietsma, 2007). The profit potential present in this sector supported by its 20% annual growth rate make it very attractive for large organizations to come forward and avail this opportunity. There is a low threat of new entrants prevailing in this chocolate industry because of the high capital requirements and expected retaliation by current manufacturers. Current players in the industry also possess some barriers to entry for new entrants by maintaining economies of scales with their large production capacity and keeping their product differentiation with their specialized and novelty chocolate products. Even though there are low switching costs and easy access to distribution channels, but still the brand loyalty of the customers including the Rogers’ Chocolate itself make it harder for new firms to come into the competition.
It focuses on the craft of premium chocolate making from cocoa beans sourced from manors around the globe. Cooking procedures are innovative. Production line groups use fastidious artisan abilities to make chocolates that
Since the creation of Hershey’s chocolate, chocolate today has taken on many different flavors and shapes.
Because of the amount of substitutes on the market, the premium chocolate industry is also has a high level of competition engrained in it. Rival companies with similar products consistently offer an alternative for customers.
e) Maintenance contracts - Maintenance costs should be included as incremental cash flows because they could change the NPV of the project if the maintenance costs are significantly different for each of the different projects.
3. To become established as the national retailer of choice for chocolate connoisseurs within the next 3 years.
The transportation cost of chocolate was high and small mom and pop stores commonly supplied chocolate made locally. Today you would be hard-pressed to find local chocolate in the United States, with the shelves dominated by four major brands. The
One important underlying driver of change in the chocolate industry is the large manufacturers lobbying to change the definition of the term "chocolate" under USFDA guidelines, if they are successful in doing this then this could potentially have a dramatic impact on the competitive environment, with lots of cheaper products
The premium chocolate market has been growing at 20% annually, showing that buyers are willing to pay more for a better tasting and better quality chocolate. The declining growth of the overall chocolate market and rapid growth of the premium chocolate market is positive for current producers of premium chocolates in that the decline
Primarily the loyalty is based on perception, not tangible evidence. Here we can see how important brand equity and positioning can be to a product that is otherwise probably on par with many of its competitors, but the message conveyed by the brand is quite different.
The Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker is experiencing an exponential year over year growth rate of their premium product. This is a situation that all new businesses strive for and although Scharffen Berger is pleased with their growth, they are facing a potential dilemma. The company must consider how they will keep up with growing demand while having enough capacity to handle the increase in production and maintain their high quality standards.