New Theatre Oxford - Case Study Example

New Theatre Oxford New Theatre Oxford Introduction Delivering outstanding performances is by far one of the key priorities for a majority of today’s theatres, the New Theatre Oxford included. The entertainment business has for long, as the name suggest, mainly to please the audience with eye catching performance not taking into consideration other factors that can take the experience of the audience to a whole other level. Entertainers or entertainment group, which realised this beforehand are now ripping the benefits as they have managed to attract and hold wider audiences (Adlington, 2015). What they have mainly done is incorporate other small endeavours that have helped them in complementing their entertainment business. This helps give the audience value for their money, which is really important for any business (Adlington, 2015). Such endeavors include opening a bar or a restaurant just next to the cinema hall, an open movie and records store, picture gallery, snack bar and many others. Just like any other business, which involves itself any endeavours outside their normal dealing, the entertainment sector also chose to follow this path in order to reap maximum profits (Trauth et al. 2012, p. 15). Today, theatres have gone to the extent of offering “open mic” for singers and spoken word artists to showcase their talents, and this is not only it; there are many more other endeavours the improve the experience of visiting theatres other than the ones stated. For this article, it will discuss how the New Theatre Oxford can also tap into other business in order to enhance their customer experience and also achieve the highest profits. The business chosen for this kind of theatre is a bar and a restaurant to cater both to the visitors of the theatre or people who mainly wish to go dine in the restaurant and not visit the theatre. There are different groups of people who visit theatres to watch the performances that take place over there. However, one fact that cannot be ignored is that a majority of them seem to be in groups of twos, which makes us assume that they are a couple (Bevan & Kipka 2012, p. 193). A majority of couples who visit theatres are presumed to be on a date and they have other plans such as visiting a place to eat or grab a drink before or after watching the performance, making this a major business opportunity for people who plan to start a restaurant and are looking for a site (Trauth et al. 2012, p. 15). The New Theatre Oxford present such an opportunity, which will allow it to pull couples who are out on a date and want to enjoy a theatre experience and also grab a bite or drink. This report will carry out a SWOT analysis on such a business and determine whether it might succeed in the Oxford area. Strength Oxford mainly has around five famous theatres, the New Theatre Oxford included. However, some of the businesses that most of these theatres have been able to start aside from the main entertainment business is a small snacks bar and art galleries (Brecht & Willett 2014, p. 71). None of them has been able to tap into the bar and restaurant business making this a major opportunity for the New Theatre Oxford. As we speak, the New Theatre Oxford is already reaping the benefits of its executive design, which has allowed it to attract quite a number of high end audiences, some even from the royal family. A majority of individuals confirm to visit the theatre due to the magnificence it present, offering its clients a historical feel (Brunning 2015, p.10). A bar and restaurant business would be perfect for such as business because of the clients it attract (Brecht & Willett 2014, p. 71). Setting up a bar and restaurant will mainly attract people who are on a date who wish to first relax and enjoy a drink or two or grad a meal before walking into the theatre. Such an endeavour can be seen in a majority of IMAX theatres where they have setup a bars and restaurant just next to the theatre, and in a majority of cases, there is a door connecting the bar and restaurant to the theatre hall (McKinnie 2013, p. 41). The New Theatre Oxford also has a lot of resources at its reach making it easier to start such as business and run it. Even though, abundant resources do not imply that starting a business will lead to its immediate success, having a lot of resources will give up an upper hand against your competitors. The strengths of the bar and restaurant depend on what you do best, whether or not you serve some of the best delicacies or even the best meals, offer first class service or offer décor, which makes the experience of dinning and drinking at the restaurant memorable (Green et al. 2014, p. 31). Other strengths might include the pricing structure, for instance offering a lower-priced menu compared to other restaurants in the area. When you start generating traffic in your non-pick hours, you can offer unique promotions such as buying one drink and getting one free during a specific time (Green et al. 2014, p. 31). By doing this you can attract some clients who were not even interested in watching a show but now that they are near the theatre, they might opt to catch an ongoing show. Weaknesses Weaknesses offer you a number of things to improve in your proposed restaurant and restaurant (Alston 2012, p.193). For example, your staff might be a weakness for the business, since you are reliant on them for the service they offer to each table. Another weakness might present itself if you do not offer adequate worker training, for instance showing waiters staff how they should cater to clients or explaining to cooking personnel how the food should be prepared and presented to clients (Campbell 2013, p. 91). Other weaknesses can include not receiving steady supplies, which lead to menu items not being available. Using paper to keep tracks of ordering and stocking or depending on an old-fashioned point-of-sale system is a weakness, since there are superior ways of measuring your stockroom, financial and order needs. Opportunities The theatre can search for opportunities, which help the business increase its profits, such as providing or expanding different types of beverages and food (Guide 2014, p. 31). Exploiting trends linked to eating healthier might imply featuring more organic salads or dishes on your menu. Finding methods to generate more traffic in slow times, like in the afternoon, represents an opportunity for development (Lemley 2011, p. 67). Selling your restaurant products, such as baked goods or salad dressings, for people to buy and take home represents an opportunity. It can be difficult, but offering take-out and delivery services or even setting up a drive-through so as to meet the needs of clients on the go displays another key opportunity (Diamond 2012, 26). Threats Competing theatres and restaurants in the Oxford region represent a threat to the business, particularly if you deal in similar types of food or drinks or present the same dining experiences (Rangan, K 2012, p. 98). New restaurants being instituted in your area also signify a threat, because area diners have more alternatives on where to eat. Other threats basically include the potential rising price of various foods (Langeveld & Hoogenboom 2012, p. 78). For example, if you choose to offer seafood dishes and something harmful affects the shrimp market, this can be considered as a threat if you want to find new suppliers or raise prices, since you might lose business. Conclusion Your restaurant might serve the most appetising food or offer the most prominent table service in your area, but if you are not aware of your strengths and weaknesses or the threats and opportunities facing the business, then your business might suffer both in the long and short run. As you plan to conduct your SWOT analysis, you can invite your restaurant manager and assistant managers and your chef to get involved in order for them to gain more insight from diverse points of view. The theatre presents an opportunity to make this restaurant be a success but it will only depend on your effort to build it. You need to bring in the right personnel who can run a restaurant instead of recruiting from the staff working at the theatre. People normally think that having a lot of capital and labour will lead to an automatic success for the business, but a right project manager is the answer to everything (Morcom, A et al. 2012, p. 64). Aside from this business, the theatre can also research on whether other businesses such as a gallery, snack bar or films and record to in order to improve the experience of their customer. However, the best recommendation that I can make is for the bar and restaurant first and also the snack bar. Nearly all theatres have a snack bar because people normally like to dine there. Thus, but doing this, you will be preserve the already established theatre culture. References Adlington, E 2015, Talk at Oxford Brookes University, Area Theatre Manager ATG, 10 March. Alston, A 2012, "Funding, product placement and drunkenness in Punchdrunks the black diamond," Studies in Theatre and Performance vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 193-208. Bevan, D & Kipka, C 2012, "Experiential learning and management education," Journal of Management Development vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 193-197. Brecht, B & Willett, J 2014, Brecht on theatre, Bloomsbury Publishing, New York. Brunning, D 2015, "Digital theatre plus," The Charleston Advisor vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 10-11. Campbell, L 2013, Anton in show business, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Diamond, M 2012, "Finest printing on the road: the importance of poster advertising for touring theatre companies around the turn of the twentieth century" Theatre Notebook vol. 66, no. 1, p. 26. Green, K et al. 2014, "Trends in musical theatre voice: an analysis of audition requirements for singers," Journal of Voice vol. 28, no. 3, pp. 324-327. Guide, V 2014, Theatre lesson plans middle school, Hasso Plattner Institute, New York. Langeveld, C & Hoogenboom, L 2012, Presenting and producing performing arts in the light of cost efficiency; juxtaposing the Netherlands against Germany, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Lemley, M A 2011, "Is the sky falling on the content industries?" Journal of Telecommunications and High Technology vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 67-69. McKinnie, M 2013, City stages: theatre and urban space in a global city, University of Toronto Press, Toronto. Morcom, A et al. 2012, "Transition of Artistic leadership in a theatre company: a case study of company b/belvoir, Sydney, Australia," International Journal of Knowledge, Culture and Change Management vol. 11, no. 6, pp. 56-67. Rangan, K 2012, Why every company needs a CSR, Oxford University Press, London. Trauth, E M et al. 2012, Out of the box and onto the stage: enacting information systems research through theatre, Oxford University Press, London. Read More