Swot Analysis Of Darden Restaurant

Darden has positioned their restaurants to satisfy needs of consumers – being part of the family at Olive Garden, experiencing the taste of the west at Long Horn which is only available on the east coast, and the taste of wood-fired seafood satisfies the health-conscious demands of consumers in today’s environment.

Many people may have heard of The Cheesecake Factory, however most people have never had the chance to dine at one nor aware of such an establishment. This shows that there is room to grow and certain target markets The Cheesecake Factory can aim for. Unfortunately, The Cheesecake Factory has many competitors because it competes in the casual dining space within the restaurant industry. There are many competitors in this industry that have been in business longer than The Cheesecake Factory and also have a larger customer base than The Cheesecake Factory. Some competitors for The Cheesecake Factory are Applebee’s, Longhorn Steakhouse, Olive Garden, and Red Lobster just to name a few. However, the real competitors for The Cheesecake Factory

Industry Analysis – Threat of New Entrants: High. In a fierce, clustered environment, the casual dining restaurant industry is open to a high level of new entrants. With its closing of 130 stores by the end of 2018, Applebee’s has to make drastic decisions in order to stay in competition much greater stay in business. Power of Buyers: High. Consumers who dine in at one of Applebee’s location across the country ultimately have high bargaining power. Switching cost are at a low when considering where to dine because of all the options offered throughout a city. Another idea to consider is the demand for the product and service offered by Applebee’s is weak. As trends in food and eating habits change, Applebee’s has failed to deliver the

Some main strengths of Trader Joe’s are the strong brand image, their employees, organic and private label products, customer loyalty, and offered unique products. Trader Joe’s strong brand image helps them to attract and retain more customers. Their private labels are named according to the background and nationality of food. They offered an extensive line of private label items with brand names such as Trader Joe’s, Trader Ming’s, Trader Jose, Trader Giotto. Due to their strong brand image, they established themselves as a leading retailer of food and non-food items in the US. Americans ranked Trader Joe’s overall as No. 1 retailer in 2013 (Ager & Roberto, 2014). Trader Joe's offered unique and high-quality products from different countries which attract customers to try new items and stocks of 4,000 items, 80% of which bear one of its own brand names. Trader Joe's describes itself as "your neighborhood grocery store" (Wikipedia, Trader Joe’s). Trader Joe’s claimed that 80% of its customers had attended college. The company described its target market as “intelligent, educated, inquisitive individuals” and they reach this customer by opening store among well-educated residents (Ager & Roberto, 2014). Their customers are too loyal towards their brand image so they keep coming back. Instead of targeting all customers, they need to target new customers in order to grow their business and to keep being a leader in the retail industry in the US. And also, their employee are valuable assets of the company, who led them towards the further growth of the company, therefore they are treated fairly and trained to provide the nice and friendly service to Trader Joe’s customers. Almost most of the people want to work at Trader Joe’s because they pay more than minimum wage and higher compare to other retail stores. New part-time hires earned $12 per hour and full-time employees earned approximately $50,000 per year which is above minimum wages. Plus, they contribute 15.4% of employee's salary towards retirement Saving. Furthermore, they offer good health and others benefits even to part-time employees (Ager & Roberto, 2014).

A strength in a SWOT analysis is something beneficial to the company while being an internal factor that they control. Two strengths of Bed Bath & Beyond are their registry service and personalized products. Bed Bath & Beyond offers their customers wedding, commitment ceremonies, baby, housewarming, anniversary, college, and birthday registry services. A registry is a listing of items, or a “wish-list”, of specific products that other people can purchase for you. An advantage of a registry is that it can be done electronically and is efficient for both the buyer and receiver. It is efficient because it is one central location people can go to purchase specific desired items. Bed Bath & Beyond’s most popular registry service is its wedding registry. It is regarded as the best registry by Kristi Kellog, in her article, “Where to Register: The 50 Best Wedding Registry Sites & Stores”. Kellog states, “When it comes to one-stop shopping convenience, few retailers can beat Bed Bath & Beyond. It’s the perfect place to scan all of your essentials, like housewares, linens, and appliances. And since they offer tons of different brands, you can select must-haves at a range of different price points. Plus, with free announcement cards to tell friends and family where you’ve registered, expert consultant to help you decide which items to pick, and a competition program that lets you purchase your remaining gifts at a discounted price after the big day, the retailer is a

The purpose of this paper is to compare the sustainability practices of two companies in the same industry. The two companies chosen for comparison are The Hershey Company and Coca-Cola Enterprises, both of which are in the consumer staples industry. These two corporations are ranked sixth and eighth, respectively, on the Newsweek Top Green Companies in the U.S 2015. They have taken pride in creating sustainable product designs, having environmentally sustainable processes and supply chain management.

One of the many resources available to Home Depot is the use of environmentally friendly supplies. Recently, Home Depot began shifting to greener products and practices, such as no longer using wood from the Amazon forest, and removing harmful chemicals like formaldehyde from their paint products. They have also began to use water recycling pumps for their irrigation centers and are in the process of creating solar powered roofs for their stores which can drastically reduce their carbon footprint. Home Depot is also recycling and reusing as much as they can, from lightbulbs to power tools. The VRINE model below measures the impact of this resource. Although it is valuable and exploitable, it is not rare or non-substitutable. This makes it a valuable resource for the short term but not a sustainable resource for competitive advantage.

Luby's was founded in 1911 in Springfield, Missouri and currently (at the time Case 22 was published in 1999) has 223 locations in 11 states throughout the Midwestern, Southern and Southwestern US. Luby's is a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange with no single organization owning more than 5.7 percent of its stock. Barry Parker, who is the company's president/CEO, is dealing with a falling stock price and profit margins that have been considerably shrinking over the past few years. The following S.W.O.T. analysis will try to pinpoint Luby's strategic issues or problems they are facing as well assist in providing alternative solutions and a final recommendation in handling these issues.

The company offers an array of products and services which appeals to a large target audience. From the weekend warrior to the professional craftsmen Lowe’s has it all. Lowe’s has just about anything to build or repair a home and even decorate it. If one were to go to the home page, they would see a long list of different types of products and services they offer. Some of the major categories they offer are appliance, building supplies, doors & windows, heating & cooling, home décor, paint, plumbing, and tools.(6). Not only can one goes to Lowe’s to buys just about anything needed for the home, but the company will even deliver the items to one’s home or place of business (7). They even offer free local delivery on all appliances costing

Darden Restaurants owns a number of specialty brands that are located throughout the United States and Canada. These include: the Olive Garden, Red Lobster, LongHorn Steakhouse, the Capital Grille, Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52, Eddie V's Prime Seafood and Wildfish Seafood Grille. The company has 2 thousand locations and they employ 135 thousand people. Their primary markets are middle class to affluent families. ("Our Company," 2012)

Shake Shack is a fast growing burger company that follows the trend of the “fast-casual” restaurant and has experienced rapid growth in the US and internationally as well over the past decade, holding over 40 international locations[site]. However, Shake Shack has yet to enter Canada – a place that holds many opportunities that the company can capitalize on using their strengths and overcoming their weaknesses. The company’s focus on corporate social responsibility and sustainable practices in production can be used to maximize the opportunities in Canada. Shake Shack holds many initiatives that focus on the environment ranging from water conservation to recycling, which may be beneficial in creating a positive brand in the location. Studies

Darden Restaurants, Inc. has been a public company since 1995. A company born of the chain Red Lobster, Darden is a recent spin-off as a result of mergers and acquisitions of various types. Publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange, Darden (DRI) is the parent company of Red Lobster, The Olive Garden, the now-defunct China Coast concept, and a new “Floribbean” concept: Bahama Breezes.

Darden takes its suppliers very seriously, prior to doing business, the supplier must be qualified and a Total Quality Management Team assigned to that vendor. Product tracking occurs with inspection teams that identify the lot ID, atmospheric packaging, and the ability to track the order from origin to receipt of goods. For their many restaurants, Darden structures its supplies from 5 continents and thousands of suppliers, but insists on independent and accurate assessments in order to maintain relationships. Everything must be JIT inventory except smallware.

Multi-unit Restaurant Business concepts are represented by units with independent operators. The concepts are categorized into three industry segments 1) specialty establishments, 2) quick service restaurants, and 3) casual dining. An excellent example of this concept business is The Darden family of restaurants, founded from Lakeland, FL, which features the following most successful and recognizable brands in full- service dining: Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Long Horn Steakhouse, Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52, The Capital Grille, Eddie V’s, and Yard House. According to their last SEC 10-k report filing, they own and operate worldwide more than 2,000 restaurants, employ 185,000 people, and serve more than 423 million meals a year. The

Home Chef has been looking for methods not only to expand its footprint nationwide, but also to build a distinct brand image to increase market share in the competitive environment. The company delivers a weekly culinary experience to the customers, which is completed with fresh ingredients and step-by-step recipes. The purpose of this report is to offer Home Chef with the threats it might face in the future in regard of their competitors.