Buffalo Wild Wings Company - Essay Example

Case Study Buffalo Wild Wings Product and or Service to be marketed Buffalo Wild Wings is a publicly traded company in North America. It was founded in 1982 and now it has expanded its business in more than 1, 000 locations in US and generated revenue more than $ 1.2 billion. Now the company wants to expand its business activities in the international market. The company has chain restaurant business in North America. The products which the company is offered to the public are various food dishes like sauces, Buffalo wings, sweet BBQ, Asian Zing, Hot BBQ, Thai Curry, spicy garlic, burger and sandwiches, various dessert items, different kind of drinks, wide range of variety in case of drinks items etc. It also offers signature seasoning like desert heat, south west ranch, blue cheese, buffalo rub etc. All the food items are related to the western culture. At first, the company needs to expand its business operation in Europe. It can be observed that there demand of such kind of foods is huge as the people of UK are also habituated to eat this kind of tastes. Similar restaurant chain operations also exist in that market. So this is anticipated that these products and services of this restaurant will get good market place in UK (Wetherly and Otter, 2014). Few images of attractive buffalo wing dishes with excellent garnishing offered by the mentioned restaurant are given below which will attract the customers. Regions and / or Countries to be considered As the restaurant business is related to western taste of food items so Europe is the best region for the purpose of marketing and expanding this business. Buffalo wings, boneless wings, chicken wings, hamburger, sandwiches etc which this restaurant is offering are also very famous and demandable food items in Europe. Major cities and countries in Europe can be the target market place for opening a new branch of this restaurant. Customers can get different taste of the similar food items from this restaurant. They can also provide some new variety of items which are rarely available in the existing restaurants in that continent. London, Berlin, Hamburg, Madrid, Paris etc are the targeted cities for this business (Cullen and Parboteeah, 2009). Target Market(s) It is already mentioned that the target market will be the European market. The big cities and major countries will be the first target places. These countries are Germany, England, Spain, Italy, France etc. This kind of wing based items are very popular in the mentioned regions and if this restaurant can add some extra flavor in these food items then demand will be increased at rapid speed and the company can earn more amount of revenue from the international market. In UK ready to eat food items are more available especially the chicken and meat based items. But taste of ready to eat food and cooked food are different. If this restaurant will give concentration on the coked food items then they can create a different taste within the market and it will push up the demand and at the same time increase the level of profitability of business (Dransfield, 2001). Economic Environment The economic condition of target countries in UK are quite stable than the other countries in this continent. At least the economic conditions of these countries are in favor for starting a new chain restaurant business in the market. The major % of population of these countries are belonging to high income group who are enough capable to consume such food products. Apart from that the cost and prices of these food items are very much affordable to all. So average income group and a nominal % of lower income group also will be target customer for this business. Already KFC and McDonald are the major competitors in the market who are offering similar kind of food items to the public. So the company should give concentration to make a different taste in their food items. Price of meat and chicken is quite low in UK which will help in reduce the production cost which will influence the prices of finished items. Only recession can be an issue which will hamper the business procedure (Allen, 2012). Political Environment Political environment will not affect so much in such kind of business activities. If the company will continue its operations after considering the country’s rules and regulations which are related to launch such kind of businesses then no problems will arise in case of expanding this business. But corporate social responsibilities should be maintained. Cultural Considerations Cultures of both the continents are almost similar at least for above mentioned food items. The people of both continents are liked to consume such kind of foods with varieties of drinks. The bar and ‘grilled’ restaurant concept are there in the major cities in Europe. So this will be an advantage for starting this business in UK. Competitive Environment The market which Buffalo Wild Wings is targeting is UK where it would be launching its Buffalo wings and sauces. The company would be facing a tough competition simply because there is large number of players in the market. The grill and bar segment is one of the most competitive market in UK. There are restaurants that have been able to maintain a firm position in UK market over the past few years. The major grill and bar restaurants in UK are Jimmy’s World Grill and Bar, Marco Pierre White’s Steakhouse Bar & Grill, Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill and Atlantic Bar & Grill restaurant. These restaurants constitute the competitive environment of UK for Buffalo Wild Wings. Natural Environment The natural environment of UK comprises of best suitable conditions in terms of living as well as non-living conditions. The major attractive feature of the natural environment of this region is that it comprises of easy accessibility to workforce. For the smooth running of the operations of the restaurant it is essential that the workers are readily available in the new region. The human resource is abundant in this region along with greater availability of various forms of spices and other ingredients that would be required for preparing the dishes offered by the restaurant. The company can use these natural resources of UK and expand on its business operations. Technological Environment UK is considered to be one of the most developed and established region. There are many companies that target this new market mainly because they want to expand its operations and the wide range of opportunities that are offered by this region. The region is technologically advanced with many companies generating high revenue margins from this region. The major technological requirements that would be needed by the restaurant would be majorly in the form of electronic devices that would help to prepare the dishes. The highly competitive market of grill and bar segment of UK indicates that the market is highly advanced in technology and offers the best of facilities. Entry Mode The market entry mode is a strategy that is adopted by a company when it enters into a new market. There are different entry modes and which one is most suitable for a company is dependent on the conditions of the target market. The appropriate entry mode for Buffalo Wild Wings is franchising. The restaurant chain needs to adapt to the new market demand so this entry mode would enable the company to incorporate best practices for satisfying customers. The franchisee would be well aware of customer taste and preferences which would be beneficial for the restaurant chain. This entry mode also encompasses less investment and even the level of risk is very low in this method of market entry. Distribution Strategy The distribution strategy is a mechanism that is implemented by a company so that the products or services reach to the end user in the best possible manner and lowest cost. The accessibility of its wide range of dishes can be increased by Buffalo Wild Wings by opening more number of outlets in the UK market. The core practices of the restaurant chain would remain the same and these practices and confidential information would be shared by the company with all its franchisees in this market. The franchisees in turn would serve dishes through the franchised stores to its customers. All the franchisees would perform its business operations in its own way but adopt the basic principles of the company. Pricing Strategy The UK market is a highly competitive market and in order to survive in this market Buffalo Wild Wings must adopt that pricing strategy which would enable them to reach to more number of customers. The most appropriate pricing strategy for the restaurant chain would be market penetration pricing strategy. The company needs to be focused on gaining market share so that it can survive and grow in this competitive market. This pricing technique might causes less revenue margins in the initial stage but once the customers are aware of the quality dishes and ambient conditions offered by Buffalo Wild Wings then it would have a large base of loyal customers satisfied with the product, service, and reasonable price range. Promotion Strategy The promotion strategy is very important for all forms of business operations so as to acquire a position in the market. The best promotional techniques that can be adopted by the firm would be advertisements in daily newspapers, radio, and social media and even through hoardings. A large customer base can be reached through digital marketing communication platform by sending bulk messages, emails and even using internet ad banner so that people come to know about the new innovative dishes offered by the firm at affordable prices. The other form of promotional strategy at the initial stage of market expansion can be offering discounts and product combos to the customers. References Allen, M. (2012). Analysing the Organisational Environment. Cambridge: Select Knowledge Limited. Cullen, J. and Parboteeah, K. (2009). International Business: Strategy and the Multinational Company. New York: Routledge. Dransfield, R. (2001). Corporate Strategy. Oxford: Heinemann. Wetherly, P. and Otter, D. (2014). The Business Environment: Themes and Issues in a Globalizing World. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Read More