The Conceptualization of Lions Den Bar and Billiards - Research Paper Example

Lionel Warren Larry Froelich BUS. 255 9 March Lion’s Den Sports Bar and Billiards I. Executive summary Lion’s Den Sports Bar and Billiards is a full service restaurant-recreation center located at Westfield Garden Plaza, Paramus, New Jersey. The restaurant will offer a friendly and inviting atmosphere, catering to sports enthusiasts this side of New Jersey. The purpose is to offer a relaxing space, with good food and top of the line sports facilities that will surely delight the target market. It will have an elaborate and extensive media system, a bar and a strategic layout that will be both comfortable and dynamic. The food to be offered will be traditionally American, with a wide array of beer, wine and fine beverages to add to the relaxing mood that the restaurant offers. Lion’s Den will run under single proprietorship, with top managers running the various facets of the business. Management wishes to establish the business by means of coordinated marketing and operational execution that will solidify name recognition, and appreciation for the concept. The efforts include both above-the-line and below-the-line advertising, face to face communication and focused strategies. With the marketing plan taking care of drawing the crowd into the business, the operations team will further strengthen client relationship by providing excellent customer service, exemplified by stringent operating guidelines, and up to date employee training and extensive product research. The management’s goal is to make the business the top choice among the competitors by implementing the following: 1. Excellent customer service 2. Well researched and planned menu and food choices, ensuring that the customers spend their hard earned money only on good food and great service 3. Enable the clients to customize their dining experience Its expansion plans also prompts management to focus on good inventory management, investing only on fast-moving goods and at the same time, not fearful of experimenting on new trends to find out which fit the target market. The sports bar business will compete in terms of facilities by offering the most number of televisions in the city, and a state of the art table top audio control to give the customers the comfort of being able to listen to his program without the interference of other clients, or without having to wait for the assistance of the service crews. There will also be top-of-the line sports facilities that include billiard tables and dart boards, a mini arcade and a concept bar that are both comfortable and edgy in nature. Clients will feel at ease, and at the same time, be entertained the programs, facilities, visuals and food that the restaurant offers. Lion’s Den will also capitalize on Information Technology and computers to provide the best facilities to the target market. It plans to further expand its business by opening more branches in neighboring cities in the next five years. II. Background New Jersey has the most number of malls per square mile of all the 50 states in the U.S. (NJ Shopping. 2011), proof that this area is at its peak in terms of commerce, trade and business. With this, the owners would like to partake in the market share and offer another choice for food and recreation – thus the conceptualization of Lion’s Den Bar and Billiards. Lion’s Den is basically a full service restaurant and sports complex rolled into one. It offers traditional American food, consisting of steaks, grilled chicken, prepared potatoes, chili and beans, and great tasting double-decker sandwiches and burgers. It also serves beers and cocktails on top of the usual refreshments of soda and juices. The main attraction of the business is its sports facilities, located at the east wing of the restaurant. The key elements of Lion’s Den are as follows: 1. Sports facilities and themes that have popular appeal 2. Interior design and layout characterized by elaborate and well planned visual designs and furniture layout. There will also be sports memorabilia and other related items displayed. 3. The restaurant will sponsor and house high profile events related to sports. 4. Excellent customer service and wide array of American recipes that are always enhanced and updated by the company’s product development team. III. Objectives Lion’s Den’s five year-plan includes branch expansion in other two other parts of New Jersey, on top of becoming Paramus’ top choice for food and recreation. Particular objectives are as follows: 1. Ensure effective manpower management by hiring only the best kitchen and service crews, and highly utilizing automated computer control for its facilities 2. Invest in Information Technology to ensure service accuracy and effective monitoring of expenditures. 3. Grow the pilot location to $ 1M annual sales level, with the other two branches following suit. 4. Get a market share of 40% by offering a sports facilities and food choices at very competitive prices. IV. SWOT Strengths: 1. Extended operating hours specifically for the target market 2. Elaborate sports facilities and ambiance, brought about by interior design and furniture choices, including memorabilia and sports paraphernalia. 3. Focus on ensuring that the business is a 100%-sports bar, with corresponding facilities that include Brunswick Billiard Tables, among others. 4. Lion will implement a unique service strategy Weaknesses 1. The restaurant does not have a delivery service, and will only cater to dine in clients, thus limiting its clientele base in terms of the food side of the business. 2. As a start up business, it does not have a loyal customer base yet. 3. Concept is in danger of attracting only a captured group of clients, i.e. sports enthusiasts only and not very appealing to other people who do not share the same passion for sports. Opportunities 1. Chance to expand business into other branches, conceptualize on other services such as delivery and drive thru. 2. Capitalize on sports seasons and offer meal packages that are enticing to the market 3. Tie up with the local Tourism department for other promotional activities that would benefit both parties’ objectives Threats 1. Sports strikes and cancelled games, decline in viewership of other sports 2. Entry of other sports bars in the area 3. Fast food chains that offer fast service, providing clients the opportunity to watch sports programs at home V. Marketing As a startup company, Lion’s Den will rely on non traditional media and below the line advertising to make its presence known in the market. There will be very minimal print, television or radio advertising. There will be merchandising activities along nearby roads and villages using announcement banners and streamers where applicable. These materials shall already be in full display two weeks prior to launch. The company will seek the assistance of two or three media personalities who will announce the store in their media appearances in exchange for privileges in the store. This way, traditional media may still be tapped despite limited funds for advertising. There will also be newspaper advertisements one week prior to the launch. This is to be able to announce the launch date and the concept, and spark interest among the local market. The ads will not be sustained anymore with more print ads due to limited number of resources. The internet will be an important tool to captivate the market. There will be an official website for the company which will feature the menu choices. A loyalty program will also be launched simultaneously. Program members are entitled to obtain materials such as limited edition shirts and other items. They will be given privilege cards for them to use while they are in the store. There will also be loyalty programs to encourage the customers to return for next day purchases. Periodic promotional programs such as raffle and discounts will also be implemented. There will also be thematic celebrations such that customers will be given value added products and service in celebration of certain occasions such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentines and the likes. Word of mouth is an important tool to expand the market. As such, it is important to the company to be able to make each customer’s visit very satisfying and remarkable for the store to be able to earn referrals. The manpower and staff are the main assets of the store. They will form part of the advertising team in such a way that they will be trained to establish good customer rapport. Lion’s Den will also partake in local activities and will seek to sponsor civic and non civic events. This way, there will be sampling opportunities and the company will have a way to touch base with individuals and groups as well. The objective is to build a solid group of returning customers to be able establish sales and generate returns. It will also partner with local merchants to be able to maximize advertising efforts at a minimal budget. Other merchandising and points of sale materials such as shirts, caps, pens and other premium items will also be available. These will be used as gifts for loyal customers and may also be sold from time to time. VI. Competition Direct competitors in the area includes Chili’s Grill and Bar, Pier 17, Orange Lantern and Applebee Restaurant, all located in Paramus, each within approximately 1 mile apart from each other. While all five have basically similar products and facilities to offer, Lion’s Den is the only restaurant that will fully showcase its sports amenities, with particular emphasis on the events and activities within the sports bar part of the business., VII. Management Lion’s Den operates under sole proprietorship, and the owner will serve as its Chief Executive Officer overseeing operations and support teams. He will employ the services of one Finance Officer to directly assist him with the Finances of the store, and one Marketing Officer who will manage the advertising campaigns and needs of the store. There will be one store manager who is in charge of daily store operations, chief barista to oversee bar operations, one chef who will plan and cook the restaurant products. There will be a total of two full time staffs and eight part time staffs to provide assistance backroom (kitchen) and dine in areas. The Marketing Specialist shall oversee the implementation of promotional events, gimmicks and ensuring that the sports facilities are in place and fully functional. He is also in charge of business development, and will oversee new concepts that would make the establishment closer to its objectives. The store manager will supervise the operations crew to ensure that they deliver excellent service to the customers. He will also be in charge of training the staff with regards to customer service. Lion’s Den aims to have an image of providing the best service in the city. The company is willing to incur additional expenses for the training of its staff to ensure that they provide excellent service to the clients. Two full time staff will act as senior personnel rendering service to the customers. They will be deployed on a different shift schedule. Together with the part time staff, they will be the front liners who will conduct sales, take orders and deliver the food to the tables. There will also be one cashier who will report to the Finance Officer regarding all transactions. He is in charge of monitoring daily income and expenses, collecting money and remitting it to the Finance Officer. VIII. Financials Lion’s Den will need to rent a space for its store operations. To achieve its desired look, the store will also have to be renovated and with the help of an Interior Designer, will be arranged to achieve a minimalist look integrated with wooden fixtures and furniture. Other assets for acquisition include sports and bar equipment, kitchen equipment, and dining equipment. Advertising expenses include design and production of merchandising materials; tie up fees, projected sponsorship and talent fee costs. Store Space Rental (Inclusive of first six months rental) $ 12,000 Store Renovation $ 80,000 Store Equipment, Furniture & Pool Tables $ 80,000 Advertising and Promotions $ 30,000 Permits and Licenses $ 5,000 Initial Stocks Purchase (Raw Materials) $ 20,000 Other Expenses $ 23,000 TOTAL $ 250,000 PROFIT AND LOSS ANALYSIS   Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6 Projected Gross Income Food 5,000 5,000 8,000 8,000 10,000 10,000 Beverages and Sports Facilities 3,000 3,000 5,000 5,000 8,000 8,000 Total Projected Gross Income $ 8,000 $ 8,000 $ 13,000 $ 13,000 $ 18,000 $ 18,000 Projected Expenses Equipment and Materials             Store Construction and Architecture 80,000           Store Equipment and Furniture 75,000           Registration and Rental Costs             Business Registration Costs 5,000           Store Space Rental 12,000           Manpower Costs 7,000 7,000 7,000 7,000 7,000 7,000 Ads and Promo Costs 10,000     10,000     Others 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 Total Project Costs $ 190,000 $ - $ - $ 20,000 $ - $ - Food 10,000     10,000     Beverages and Sports Facilities 10,000     10,000     Total Projected Expenses $ 210,000 $ - $ - $ 40,000 $ - $ - Net Income $ (202,000) $ 8,000 $ 13,000 $ (27,000) $ 18,000 $ 18,000 IX. Risk Factors Investing in top of the line and the latest facilities will be the first challenge that the company will undertake. Considering that this is a startup company, getting R.O.I. will depend heavily on the marketing plan, its execution and the actual operations of the company. If the last two does not succeed in brining in the sales, it might take time for the company to get back the investments made on the facilities. As such, management may also want to consider diversifying its services, and do tie ups with sports channels and other groups to alleviate the costs of bringing in entertainment to its client base. Inventory management will also prove to be another risk factor to consider, as the restaurant must ensure that all resources are well spent and are geared towards the right channels. X. Harvest or Exit It is included in Lion Den’s five-year plan to be able to get back the initial investments and expand to other locations. By then will the company be ready for other investors, with the company perhaps selling stocks to potential partners who would find the right reasons to put their money into the business. The management also intends to offer franchising of the concept to other groups, provided they meet the qualifications, i.e. appropriate proximity from the next Lion’s Den location, sustainability plans and ability to execute the concept of the business. Revisions 1. Page 8, no mentioned of pool tables nor television monitors in financials since this is the theme. – it’s in the store equipment and furniture 2. Overall, paper is good! Works Cited “NJ Shopping.” FunNJ.com. March 7, 2011. http://www.funnj.com/links/shopping/index.htm Read More