Nordsee – the Different Fast Food Restaurant

The Different Fast- Food Restaurant (Case Study for Marketing Course) pic MK 300 Michaela Ouzka F03 B April 27, 2005 Summarizing the Facts As Slovakia becomes an integrated European country, it is increasingly involved in globalization. As a result, many foreign citizens, Slovak business people, and professionals come especially to Bratislava for investment or for other reasons and obviously, as they spend much time in town, there is a higher demand for good quality eating places.Nordsee is a non- traditional lush food restaurant it clefts quality sea food with self- service. Moreover, a part of the restaurant is a snack-bar for the busier people or for students and there also exists a sea-food terminal with delicate and fresh sea specialties for the more demanding customers. Nordsee is a German company which was established in 1896. Originally, it was a small firm that consisted of 7 steam boats and was search all kinds of sea-food in order to sell it in its own store as fres h as possible. Nowadays, this company is Europes No. sea-food restaurant with stores all over Germany (364 restaurants combined with snack-bars and stores), Austria and Switzerland due to its 100 years of know-how, its technology, and its outstanding return quality. State the Problem/ Opportunity Other fast-food chains have already entered the Slovak market and did very well, as for instance McDonalds or Pizza Hut. However, Nordsee differs a lot from these traditional high-sugar, high-fat burgers and low-carb pizzas. Its meals are very healthy, tasty, and even suitable for vegetarians.It these days, more and more people care about their weight and their lifestyle, and Nordsee base certainly help to reduce the peoples weight and to stay in shape. The principal(prenominal) dishes in the restaurant are for instance salmon, shrimps, and many diverse kinds of sea-fishes, squid or lobster for attractive prices combined with salads, potatoes or soups and sauces. Slovakia represents a g ood opportunity for Nordsee to hit the roof to eastern Europe. It provides low labor-cost and a still rather open market.The target market would be students (snack-bar), labor, professionals or business people (self-service restaurant), and the gourmets (store). The plausibly biggest problem would be the relatively high prices for the top-quality sea food and the competition from other already existing fast food restaurants. Analyze the Causes of the Problems Problem No. 1 Relatively High Prices of the Products This is certainly true if we are speaking about top-quality lobster or salmon. But there are also other, cheaper products in the self-service store or in the snack-bar, as a part of a restaurant.As you can see there is a wide range of many different products and therefore of many pricing levels from cheap to affordable, but of top quality. An average salmon sandwich with salad and a tasty herb-sauce would probably cost just as much as a high-fat McRoyal. Which one would y ou chose? Problem No. 2 Competition Obviously there are already fast-food restaurants or baguetterias, but they offer almost no variety and they are incomparable with a Nordsee restaurant, as you sit down in a nice atmosphere and you eat the dishes with injure and fork, and not with your bare hands.You can also have a special fish-soup or a salad with shrimps if you chose to. It is a self-service restaurant therefore, it wouldnt take more than 15 minutes to eat a full meal. It would be completely innovative and that is why there would be no real competition in that sense. Of course it would be necessary to open such a store in some shopping concentrate on or in the city center of Bratislava where there are many potential customers located. Alternative Solutions 1.Nordsee opens its own store in Bratislava and if it approves, other stores can be opened in Banska Bystrica or Kosice. Strenghts Over 100 years of know-how, technology, excellent product quality Weaknesses It is a German company and it does not completely know how to operate in east Europe (lack of knowledge and experience) Opportunities Number 1 self-service restaurant with sea-food in Slovakia Threats Competition, too high prices for Slovak market 2. FranchisingStrenghts Low risk-taking for Nordsee, other Slovak entrepreneurs invest their silver and have better know-how of their domestic market Weaknesses Nordsee has to provide them with their technology, their expertise and product supplying Opportunities Nordsee receives payment from Slovak entrepreneurs and without much risk-taking it can become leading fast-food restaurant Threats Entrepreneurs can stay profitless, Nordsee Company may have therefore damaged reputation, it can no more expand successfully on its own to other Eastern European countries . Slovak entrepreneurs open a similar store with other brand name on their own Strenghts They do not have to pay Nordsee for franchising they do not have to obey the standards and orders from No rdsee (independence) Weaknesses They might not have the required equipment and know-how Opportunities Opening a similar store but with a different product line and therefore a different, eventually lower pricing Threats Competition from other, already existing fast-food chains, which are more organized and already experienced Recommended SolutionFranchising would probably be the most suitable choice in order to successfully expand to Slovakia. It would be inevitable to go to Nordsee headquarter in Germany to have a talks with the suitable persons to ask for a license to distribute their products and to receive their technology for the preparation of their food. After their agreement, it is necessary to pay for this license and for the equipment for the stores, as they are standardise and are therefore almost identical in every location. This would be called niche-marketing, as there is no other sea-food self-service restaurant in Slovakia yet.Justification and rating Franchising would be the most effective choice, as I have worked out the 4 Ps (marketing mix) Product Sea-food (fish specialties, shrimps, soups, salads, etc. ) Price In a similar range as already existing fast-food restaurants in Slovakia (e. g. McDonalds) Promotion Advertising through TV-spots (depending on the extent of the promotion budget), billboards, flyers, free samples in the stores at heart the first week of the opening, newspapers, magazines, fitness centers, etc. Place Bratislavas city center, shopping malls, etc. (eventually Banska Bystrica and Kosice) To sum up, Nordsee has an enormous potential in Eastern Europe, especially Slovakia through franchising. It is evident that it would certainly do quite well under such conditions especially in Bratislava. There are still no, or just very few, good restaurants with high-quality food where you can eat within a few minutes. There would also be special offerings for small children with an prodigious dish with a little toy (such as t he Happy Meal in McDonalds stores).As you can see, the potential market is wide-spread and I am affirmative that Nordsee would definitely be a good alternative to all the fat pizzas and burgers that we all weekly consume with disregard to our health.