...Smoothie King: Information Systems Strayer University Abstract The purpose of this paper is to analyze the case, “Smoothie King”, found in Franchising: An Entrepreneur’s Guide. The writer will identify safe ways to send documents through email. The writer will discuss whether that topic is discussed fully in the case and give his/her reasoning behind it. In addition, the writer will choose three information systems used in the case study and describe the purpose of each and its usefulness to the franchisor/franchisee. Introduction Smoothie King promotes a healthier lifestyle by offering smoothies made with real fruit. They offer 40 different varieties that taste great and are good for you. It is no wonder that they were a hot from the beginning. The smoothie giant has been around since 1987 and began franchising in 1988 (Judd & Justis, 2008). Steve Kuhnau started this mega chain in hopes of remedying his allergies and the rest is history. Smoothie King is among the successful franchises that have utilized information systems to get them to where they are today. Information systems are an important part of the plan for success. There is much to be said about a franchise unit that does not operate using an information system. According to Britannica Online an information system is an integrated set of components for collecting, storing, processing, and communicating information. It is the heartbeat of many franchises and allows owners to...
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...McDonald’s Smoothies: Creative Brief |Client/Brand: |McDonald’s Australia |Date: |September 2, 2011 | 1. The Company McDonald’s Australia is a 3.2 b dollar business. It is not only known to people for its iconic golden arch, mouth-watering burgers, fries and nuggets, but also for its community service, strong partnership with local growers and suppliers and an array of corporate social activities. 2. Brand Issues McDonald’s is a recognized representation of fast food and often not deemed as a ‘healthy’ food option. Therefore, McDonald’s goal to stretch its product range to fresh fruit smoothie is a challenge. Further in Australia, there are established players, specifically targeting smoothies and fruit drink segment. Customers therefore, have a wider available choice already. When the scenario is like this, reasons why people would still buy McDonald’s smoothies are: • No competitor can provide mix benefits of a great range of meal options and cheerful in-store ambience along with smoothies that McDonald’s can. • With 808 restaurants in Australia, out of which roughly 30% operates 24/7, McDonald’s offers widest availability and greatest convenience than any of its competitors. • In 2009, McDonald’s introduced McCafe that offers finely brewed made to order coffee drinks that has been a great success. It means if smoothies can be properly positioned keeping consistency...
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...benefits of a combined 7-8 billion dollar industry. From 2001 to 2006 smoothie sales grew at a rate of 82%. People need somewhere they can go and get a quick tan followed by a refreshing healthy beverage or meal replacement. Busy people find ways to work more efficiently in order to achieve desired results; that includes tanning then reaching for a refreshing beverage. Sun Tan is a full service smoothie café and tanning salon offering a fun Polynesian theme including healthy snacks and collectibles. The smoothie and tanning industry are some of the fastest growing industries in history. Few shops offer both tanning and smoothies in one location. You can find such business endeavors on each coast, but not here in the Dallas Ft. Worth metroplex. Dallas has the perfect demographic makeup to support such an undertaking. The target market for this opportunity is actually comprised of a couple of different groups. Primarily the targets are 18-34 year olds and women. Generation X and Y consumers are demonstrating a huge concern with nutrition and fitness that separates them from the Baby Boomers and older generations. Smoothies have emerged as the best vehicle for providing heath-oriented consumers with a complete, convenient option for a tasty meal or refreshing snack that is also packed with nutrition. In addition, Sun Tan will also be a great place to get a tan. There are a couple of places currently that have a smoothie offering, but none will be even close to the fresh amazing smoothies...
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...Forever Weight Loss Smoothies Marketing Plan By Viquita Ware For Professor Levanti I have prepared a report based on “Marketing Plan weight loss smoothies. In order to prepare this report, I along with my staff have followed marketing research methodology for those who are overweight and or those who just want to lose weight. The target market that we are focusing on range from the early 20’s into the late 50’s. Our company chose to focus on the results and opinions of our target market by relying on the data from questionnaires initiated by “Weight loss” smoothies. This questionnaire was done with the intent of finding out what the market need and wants consisted of. This survey took place inside and outside of Memphis. After analyzing the questionaire, plans about location, building source of finance, price, promotion, and channel of distribution, our plant location will be located in the heart of Memphis. This location was chosen to ensure an easy access of raw materials and for unlimited client potential. Our product will be made available in 600ml and 900ml and the flavors will be Orange, Mango,and Strawberry. The prices for the smoothies will be relatively lower than that of our competition and the channels of distribution will be convenient. Furthermore, advertisements will also be placed on both television and banners. Distribution of our product will be located within the Southland Mall. The entire production process is in strict conformity with...
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...The organizational structure, ownership and growth of ‘Innocent Drinks’ from its beginning to the present date In 1998, three Cambridge University graduates, Richard Reed, Adam Balon and Jon Wright sold their first drinks, smoothies, from a stall at a music festival in London after spending six months on writing the recipes with only £500 as the starting capital. “Should we give up our jobs to make smoothies” were written on a banner in front of the stall. There were two bins marked as “Yes” and “No” next to the stall and people were asked to throw their empty bottles into either one of them. Only three bottles were found in the “No” bin after the festival. As the result, they resigned their own jobs, decided to run the business of a drinks company by the format of partnership. After that, they needed to find investment because of the lack of capital for their establishment. Luckily, after several times of unsuccessful application for the borrowing of the bank, Mr. Maurice Pinto, a wealthy American businessman, decided to invest £250,000(£250,000 were invested by a wealthy American businessman called Mr. Maurine Pinto), which make them taken the step to success. The workforce of the company increased from three to six in 1999. The first overseas office was open in the capital of Ireland, Dublin, in 2000. It is the first stage for them to promote their products to other countries outside the UK. One year after their establishment, innocent drinks start to sale their products...
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...the Customer Behavior Laboratory course supervised by Professor Gerald Zaltman. Copyright © 1999 President and Fellows of Harvard College. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 1-800-545-7685, write Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA 02163, or go to http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of Harvard Business School. Purchased by Jordana Blesa (Babesktr@aol.com) on January 11, 2012 800-122 Juice Guys (A) CONTENTS I. II. Introduction Background Market Research What’s a Smoothie? Are Smoothies Fad-Proof? Words of Wisdom So What? III. IV. V. VI. Methodology Results--LP Diagram Explanation and Detailed Quips (To be prepared) Recommendations and Next Steps (To be prepared) Exhibits Exhibit 1: Survey to Identify Juice Guys’ Retail Target Market Exhibit 2: Summary of Interviews in Exhibit 1 Exhibit 3:...
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...makes it hard to be healthy. That's why we gave up our jobs over five years ago and started making innocent smoothies. The idea was to make it easy for people to do themselves some good. And to make it taste nice too. We wanted people to think of innocent drinks as their one healthy habit; like going to the gym, but without the communal shower afterwards We call them innocent because our drinks are always completely pure, fresh and unadulterated. Anything you ever find in an innocent bottle will always be 100% natural and delicious -and if it isn't, get on the banana phone and make us beg for forgiveness. In fact, being accountable to our customers is something that is in our blood. In the summer of 1998 when we had developed our first smoothie recipes but were still nervous about giving up our proper jobs, we bought £500 worth of fruit, turned it into smoothies and sold them from a stall at a little music festival in London. We put up a big sign saying 'Do you think we should give up our jobs to make these smoothies?' and put out a bin saying 'YES' and a bin saying 'NO' and asked people to put the empty bottle in the right bin. At the end of the weekend the 'YES' bin was full so we went in the next day and resigned. Then we had to find a home. And that's when we stumbled across the perfect place - Fruit Towers. It's a lovely little place, somewhere that we can call our own and where everybody's welcome. You'll find Fruit Towers in Shepherds Bush, so do pop by if you're ever...
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...FOM_C02.qxd 1/15/09 1:15 PM Page 51 The Global Marketing Environment Case 2 innocent Ltd: being good is good for business In a world of big commercial brands that promise to make you feel younger, look better or live longer, occasionally there are those that come along that try to be more grounded, more real and more authentic. A classic case in point was the Body Shop chain of cosmetic shops, which did not promise to reverse ageing or get rid of wrinkles but instead offered natural, authentic products and showed concern for the environment at the same time. innocent Ltd is a company in that mould. It has built a very successful business in the smoothie market by offering quality, fresh products and by behaving in an openly ethical manner. Its success has spawned a host of competitors and it now faces several challenges to its dominance of the sector. Company background innocent was founded in 1998 by three college friends—Richard Reed, Adam Balon and Jon Wright. In the summer of that year, the trio set up a stall at a small music festival in London. They started with £500 of fresh fruit and set up two bins, one with a ‘yes’ sign and the other with a ‘no’ sign. They also had another sign that asked customers ‘Should we give up our jobs to make these drinks?’ By the end of the festival, the ‘yes’ bin was overflowing and innocent Ltd was born. The vision of its founders, in the words of Richard Reed, was to be ‘Europe’s favourite little juice...
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...entrepreneurs behind Innocent had difficulties in finding funding for their business idea, but the company soon became successful and held 20 per cent of a market worth £20 million’. The British based company Innocent Drinks is one of the best-loved and fastest growing businesses in Britain. Innocent Drinks is now a well-loved and known lifestyle brand that provides brilliantly designed, healthy and fashionable under its brand identity. Innocent Drinks has achieved unparalleled success in the UK as the foremost player in the smoothies sector. This case study looks at the smoothies category in detail and assesses the company's achievements as it copes with recession, competition and takeovers. Innocent Drinks is the dominant player in the UK smoothie market, successfully defeating new competitors and the recession with its health positioning and quirky marketing techniques. Coca-Cola recently purchased a major stake in the company, but Innocent aims to keep critics of this move...
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...A lot of folks depict paradise as lying on some remote island overlooking a stunning sunset while feeling the sand between their toes. My conception may be somewhat different than most people. I can envision beaming music, and people as they frolic. Where the party never stops, it keeps going and going like the Energizer bunny. The scenery will be the most divine of anything on this earth, more so than overlooking the flawless, sugarcoated snow covering the Rocky Mountains. Oh, my, the aroma coming from that city- like freshly cut bouquets of flowers on a sunny spring day. Forget about having a foul taste because it will leave only an everlasting angelic savor in your mouth. Paradise to me is cheerful music and people also, it has the most beautiful scenery one can only imagine. All the masses of people would start getting together holding hands in a circle with Jesus in the middle and start singing in a heavenly language. The city is filled with thunderous sounds of every instrument one can imagine. Then, the angles pick up tambourines hitting them in rhythm along with the music, while people start dancing before the Lord. All of a sudden, Peter, Paul, Job, and all the great men and women of God lift up their hands and sing out with all of their capacity to Jehovah Jireh. A rainbow is prolonged across the land. It has the brightest colors of blue, yellow, pink, and orange. It is so beautiful; the majestic colors make one want to reach out and touch it. A huge waterfall...
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...cultural figures, which are central focuses of the painting. The Queen’s alluring white dress accentuated with the purple banner creates connotations of royalty and prestige. Equally, the garments that Barker has depicted on the Ambassador are atypical to the attire worn by Britons in this period. However they are by no means less significant. The Ambassador wears an animal skin cape, lavish jewellery, and fine linens; Barker has localised England’s prestige to the Ambassador to indicate to the viewer that he is clearly of importance. This then raises the question about the fact that this is an Ambassador, as opposed to the actual leader. One could then argue that the garments worn represent the King. This then sparks the question of what the context was that disallowed the actual King to be there. Were there domestic problems he had to tend to? Was the Ambassador merely collecting “The Secret of England’s Greatness” as a means to resolve the greatness that they might had lacked? Divinity is also explored because of how the non-physical concept of “greatness” is presented as something religious– a Bible. Given the context of a vastly religious 19th century Britain, the Bible is probably an allusion to God and his glory. However the fact that “greatness” is portrayed as a physical entity, leads one to think that it can be achieved by man. This is consolidated by the fact that Queen Victoria is handing the Bible to the Ambassador. It is a form of evangelism per say, declaring...
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...there focus | WEAKNESSESNo new products introduce with the fast food industryNegative publicity from activists who protect animal’s rights.Known for having unhealthy menu Have not tap into the pizza market | OPPORTUNITIESTap into the Coffee and smoothie marketExpanding its brand to the next level Joining forces with Larger retailersBreaking into home delivery health food market | THREATSBlame for contributing to unhealthy eating habits The global economic downturn threatens to harm McDonald’s revenues. Strong competition from fast food chains in the developed marketCurrency fluctuations overseas are a factor in McDonald’s overall earning | McDonald’s is leading from the front when it comes to fast food industry in the world. It’s presence it felt around the world with over 31,000 restaurants and franchisees spread out in 119 different countries give it the financial overhead to out due it competition. Overall from year to year McDonald’s has proven that they can continue to grow and increase its net profit over 1.1 billion dollars since 20008 to current weighing in at net profit as of 2012 of 5.4 billion dollars. The fast food chain competitors have not changed over the year and still are lingering on Burger King’ Yum; Wendy’s; and Subway. Neither of these brand are an immediate threat but they are still in the running. McDonald’s has maintain its position in the market through great advertisement with it budget weighing in around 2 billion dollars. Bad...
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...McDonald’s Corporation April Hahnfeld Analyst July 18, 2010 HOLD • Threat of Competition: High • Threat of New Entrants: High • Threat of Substitution: Low-Moderate • Power of Suppliers: Low • Power of Buyers: Low • Best profit margin in the industry • Moderate Leverage • Good dividend yield and earnings growth • Attractive per-share earnings growth due to large share repurchases • Significant internal exposure and shareholder focus • Commodity cost risks • Extremely competitive industry • High food, energy, and labor cost concerns • Product failures McDonald’s Corporation’s principal activity is to franchise and operate McDonald’s restaurants in the food service industry. These restaurants serve a varied, yet limited, value-priced menu in more than 100 countries worldwide. All restaurants are operated either by the Company or by franchisees, including conventional franchisees under franchise arrangements, and foreign-affiliated markets and developmental licensees under license agreements. Independently-owned and operated distribution centers, approved by the Company, distribute products and supplies to most McDonald’s restaurants. In addition, restaurant personnel are trained in the storage, handling and preparation of products and in the delivery of customer service. In February 2009, the Group sold its interest in Redbox Automated Retail, LLC.1 1 Thomson One Ticker MCD Exchange NYSE Industry Retailing - Foods Sector Consumer Services Classification ...
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...our “righteous” King and his cohorts. Scared does not begin to describe my feelings toward this battle that I did not volunteer for. I am just a mere foot soldier, an arrow cushion for the royals. We arrived a week ago today and it seems today will be the day of days. The Kings from our side and theirs are meeting in the middle of what will soon become the battlefield, or should I just call it what it will become, the resting place of most of us. I hope they work this out peacefully with some concessions. I am getting ahead of myself. When we first arrived we came ashore on boat and well let me just say there was nothing here, unless you count the forest. Well most of that went to constructing the Kings quarters. We found ourselves fighting over firewood to keep warm at night, although keeping warm almost came in second to just rest after our days. We work nonstop from dawn to dusk. It is just us “less” noble by birth that do all the manual labor, while the noble keep watch over us while they drink wine and we build battlements and quarters for the luckier. I find myself praying every night for this to be over, one way or the other, and at this point I am leaning toward the other, which would mean that I will never see any of you again. How I miss home. I know we work for a noble but at least we have a roof over our head and some grog and mead for our bellies. And it is warm at night. Well it appears that battle will not be avoided as the King and his cronies...
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...McDonald’s Corporation April Hahnfeld Analyst July 18, 2010 Recommendation: HOLD Porter’s 5 Forces: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Threat of Competition: High Threat of New Entrants: High Threat of Substitution: Low-Moderate Power of Suppliers: Low Power of Buyers: Low Pros: Ticker Exchange Industry Sector Classification Market Cap. 52 Week Price range Recent Price Current P/E Projected 2012 P/E 2009 EPS Projected 2012 EPS Dividend Yield Debt Rating Beta MCD NYSE Retailing - Foods Consumer Services Income & Capital Appreciation $71,153 M $53.88 - $71.84 $69.22 (7/9/2010) 15.59 14.27 $3.98 $ 3.33% AA0.61 Best profit margin in the industry Moderate Leverage Good dividend yield and earnings growth Attractive per-share earnings growth due to large share repurchases Significant internal exposure and shareholder focus Cons: Commodity cost risks Extremely competitive industry High food, energy, and labor cost concerns Product failures Brief Overview McDonald’s Corporation’s principal activity is to franchise and operate McDonald’s restaurants in the food service industry. These restaurants serve a varied, yet limited, valuepriced menu in more than 100 countries worldwide. All restaurants are operated either by the Company or by franchisees, including conventional franchisees under franchise arrangements, and foreign-affiliated markets and developmental licensees under license agreements. Independently-owned and operated distribution centers, approved by the Company...
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