Primadelis Beginnings And Its Success Story Marketing Essay

Primadelis Beginnings And Its Success Story Marketing Essay The objective of this report is to discover about the starts of the well-known PrimaDeli that we all know. Well also be touching slightly on how Prima Limited was first established, the challenges it faced and obstacles it went through as a company before eventually making it big in the industry. And most importantly, how did it manage to make a breakthrough even after the undesirable food-poisoning incident. What is Prima Deli? PrimaDeli is a well known pastry shop filled with different types of delicacies. From puffs to cakes other variety of confectionaries to satisfy your cravings. Over the years, they have grown rapidly all over Singapore and providing good quality service to satisfy their customers. With the outlets being conveniently located in major residential estates, commercial districts and shopping areas and more than 30 outlets across Singapore, its no wonder their bakeries are recognised all over the island. Corporate History In 1961, Prima Limited was established when its founder, Cheng Tsang Man, built Southeast Asias first flour mill and the company. Prima was also known as Bai Ling Mai, which means a hundred year old wheat in Chinese. It is to represent the companys vision for corporate longevity. The company made the official listing under both Singapore and Malaysia business registries in 1969. The company not only has flourmill in Singapore but also in other countries like Indonesia, India, the Philippines and Australia. The Prima we know today is more than just involving into flour milling, it is now diversifying into other aspects such as signature restaurants, food manufacturing, baked confectionary products, even in property management and fields of information technology. And PrimaDeli is one of the successful businesses that the company has now. Launched in 1992, PrimaDeli is Singapores first one and only home-grown bakery franchise and also the longest-running Singapore food franchise. With the bakery outlets located in major business, residential and shopping areas, drawing a diverse mix of culture and races to their choice bakery products. PrimaDeli has been managed by the Prima Food Pte Ltd, which is the subsidiary of food and service conglomerate Prima Limited. Setbacks faced by Prima in the early years Just coming into its first few years of operation, the company was already confronted with umpteen financial setbacks which include the struggle of regulating the continual fluctuations uh their profit margins. In their yearly report for 1970, Prima addressed the problem of rapid increase of production costs particularly the vital raw products of wheat grain and also for the logistics of freight transportation costs. Due to the hike of price in production costs, the company had no other choice but to sell their goods and their by-products at higher cost in order to restore their lost and to ensure that their profit margin is maintained. What was done to counter back the problem Due to their concern over production costs, Prima subsequently felt encouraged to purchase majority share-holds in multiple primary industries and firms. The company took a majority stake in Prima Modern Machinery Pte Ltd in 1990 and took over the businesses of Goodman Fielder Wattie (Asia) Pte Ltd, a company that specialises in food and beverage area. These achievements have allowed Prima to widen their portfolio of long-term investment and consequently contributed to the cutback of production costs induced by the company. To further counteract the extreme price increase in market productions, Prima began specializing in export sales within the year itself. These measures paid off munificently allowing the company to restore its lost and claiming a profit of up to S$2.736 million for 1991 as to comparison to the loss attained in the previous year that came up to S$5.124 million. Achievements Over the years, Prima Limited had successfully grabbed a few awards to bring up its name. Some of these awards are Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) and Singapore Franchise Mark. HACCP which is the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point is a systematic and scientific approach in indentifying, processing, production and preparation of food so as to ensure that the food is safe when consumed. By attaining the HACCP award, it shows that Prima Food has a system which is universally recognised. This is especially helpful in allowing PrimaDeli to compete more effectively in the world market and it also open potential markets by increasing confidence in Primas food safety and hygiene standards. With the Singapore Franchise Mark award in hand, it goes to show that Prima is certified for having creditable professional standards in the sectors of business practices, management capabilities as well as business performance. This certainly puts Prima in a advantageous position because on the few top selected companies are rewarded with this award. By being listed as one of the companies, it just goes to show that Prima is one of the few top notch companies in terms of franchising management. Currently, all PrimaDeli retail outlets operate under the franchise system. What this system does is providing franchisees with premium quality products as well as a broad scope of professional training and help that includes outlet concept development and marketing. With this, the system allows for the franchisor to focus on food manufacturing, research and development while partnering like-minded entrepreneurs to operate the retail front. In which, it assures a steady business growth. Prima Deli has also received awards including Franchise Excellence Awards Mark in recognition for its successful franchise system. In 2002, Prima Limited picked up the Superbrand status in a celebration of its corporate longevity and significant contribution to the Singapore economy. This was followed by the 2004 SPBA Heritage Brand Award which recognises the companys market excellence over 40 years. By attaining this award, PrimaDeli is recognised to be one of the top brands in Singapore for market dominance, goodwill, customer loyalty and overall market acceptance. Recent years In 17 may 2007, PrimaDeli being the first home-grown bakery franchise and the longest running Singapore food franchise, has received the Halal food certification from MUIS, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore a first for an established Singapore bakery franchise. It is after 15 years, that PrimaDeli finally decided its time to tap into the halal market and increase its customer base. With the Halal certification, PrimaDeli is now able extend its wide range of freshly-baked pastries, buns, breads and premium quality cakes to the Muslim community at 38 retail outlets islandwide. The Halal certification provides assurance to the Muslim community that the food does not contain any ingredients which they are forbidden to consume, such as alcohol, pork and other meat that have not been prepared according to Islamic rituals. With the Halal certificate in hand, has certainly put PrimaDeli in an advantageous position. Unfortunately, on 19 November of the same year, Prima Limited was confronted with one of its biggest challenges to date. Which is a virulent case of salmonella poisoning that caused all 38 Prima Deli outlets to be closed for a period of up to 3 weeks. The company was fined the maximum of S$5000 for selling contaminated food and for causing more than 200 of its customers to fall ill after consuming cakes purchased from Prima Deli stores. Sales drastically dropped to 15% in the immediate aftermath of the health scare, but were declared to be not as dire as the company had estimated. As a matter of fact, customers eventually returned back to the stores, and the companys overall sales actually rose 10% to 15% higher than their usual records during previous business years. Many new rules and regulations were implemented as a direct result of this case of salmonella poisoning, with all employees now required to undergo not just routine health checks, but also screening for salmonella. The company also implanted more cameras in production areas in order to monitor hygiene more effectively. Companys subsidiaries After looking at the organizations history and the numerous challenges that it faced, lets now look at how the company diversifies its services, not just in terms of producing quality baked products but also in cafeteria operations, fine dining and casual dining. Apart from food beverages, Prima is also into the field of information technology to further increase their profits and make use of it to full benefit. In this section, a list of subsidiaries will be given just to show how Prima Limited has succeeded in expanding their company. List of subsidiaries under Prima Limited Prima Food Pte Ltd -PrimaDeli Asia (M) Sdn Bhd -Confectionery Transformation (M) Sdn Bhd PrimaDeli Franchise (M) Sdn Bhd PFS Pte Ltd Prima Noodle Restaurant Pte Ltd PrimaDelis Vision and Mission The following was extracted from http://www.prima.com.sg/core_biz/Frameset/index_foodsvs_manu.htm http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_1458_2009-02-11.html Prima is also known as Bai Ling Mai in Chinese, which means a hundred year old wheat. It is used to represent the companys vision of corporate longevity. PrimaDeli is Singapores first homegrown bakery and confectionery franchise. It was launched in 1992 with the mission to transform the local bakery and confectionery industry by adopting modern production and management techniques, information technology and strong branding. From here, it can be seen that PrimaDeli is living up to its vision of longevity of the company by inducing new ways to prosper their business live attaining a Halal certificate so as to broaden their range of customer in terms of race. Also they are always coming up with different ways to further improve their baking solutions through technology. An In-Depth Look External environment of the company Here were going to look at the competition that PrimaDeli faces against other confectionary shops. The figure below shows which 2 confectionaries customers prefer to than PrimaDeli. These percentages were base on a survey which I have done. Confectionary shop: Percentage (%) Polar puffs cakes 81.8 Bengawan Solo 4.5 Breadtalk 31.8 From here, it could be seen that clearly theres a huge percentage of people which will turn to Polar puffs cakes other than PrimaDeli. Theres a very fierce competition going on between these two popular shops. Lets now look at what consumers feel PrimaDeli should improve on. Again these figures are base on the response Ive gotten from my survey. Percentage(%) More variety in choice of pastries, puffs, cakes, etc 60 Reduction in price 10 Customer service 20 Cleanliness 10 This clearly shows that customers want PrimaDeli to provide more variety of their pastries because they want to see something new, innovative and capture their eyes and taste. Task Environmental Analysis Threat of new entrants is High There are more and more confectionaries sprouting They are mostly located in heartlandsHaving analyzed the potential external threats, it is time to look at the factors directly contributing to a tight competition among confectionaries in Singapore a Porters Five diagram. Bargaining power of buyers is High Theres a vast choice of confectionaries to choose from So, consumer will choose the ones that are cheap has a wide variety of pastries The consumers are the ones that will decide which bakery is the best Supplier Power is average Different confectionaries has different suppliers The quality of products depends on the suppliers There are still a wide range of suppliers to choose from Rivalry is Intense Number of confectionaries in Singapore is high There is an increasing number of pastry shops coming up with new ways to attract consumers attraction ;promotions Product and Technology Development is medium With the constant upgrade of technology, some confectionaries are using this to their benefit This aspect can be used to improve in their food quality Internal Environment Management Here Im going to do a marketing mix to compare both PrimaDeli and Polar. PrimaDeli Product The main product for PrimaDeli is a range of top quality pastries, buns, breads and cakes. Price The range of prices varies depends on the type of confectionary that youre buying. For cakes it starts from $15 and can reach up to $45++ according to the flavour and weight of cake. Outlets Up to date there are 38 outlets in Singapore Polar Product They specialises in mostly puffs and cakes Price Pricing varies to the products bought Cakes starts from $10.80 $45++ Outlets As of now, there are 33 outlets and 70 takeaway counters at petrol stations Observations and Conclusions Critical success factors To determine the critical success factors of PrimaDeli well have to once again look at PrimaDelis mission. Mission To transform the local bakery and confectionery industry by adopting modern production and management techniques, information technology and strong branding Critical success factors They should put in place their management techniques by producing and thinking of ways to further improve on their variety of confectionaries In order to have a strong branding, they should think of new modern production ways to market their products They should also keep up with the market competition and open up more outlets Strategic problem PrimaDeli should start considering in increasing the variation of their pastries because with more pastry shops coming up, they will lose out if they dont change their strategies in pulling in more customers. Also, they will need to have more outlets in order to compete with the various confectionaries out there. Strategic Alternatives and Recommendations PrimaDeli has been doing really well in terms of their diversification in other aspects other than just in selling pastries, like franchising into other countries. However, in the area of marketing of their confectionaries here, they are a bit lacking in putting in more concern. They should come out with different strategies and market plans to pull in customers to boost their income. Although being the first home-grown bakery franchise and the longest running Singapore food franchise, they still have a chance to lose their customers to other shops. For example, Polar puffs cakes. Polar is now gaining a lot of attention and popularity from consumers because they feel that there are more varieties there rather than in PrimaDeli. With the numerous promotions that Polar has and also considering the number outlets it has as compared to PrimaDeli, its only a matter of time before PrimaDeli will lose out their customers. Conclusion In all, PrimaDeli has done Singapore proud by being one of the longest running Singapore food franchise and also first home-grown bakery franchise. It has venture out into other countries and gained the trust of other companies to purchase and use their products. This is something that not many local companies have been able to done. PrimaDeli also have proven that their standards are recognised world-wide and so are their food beverages. However, PrimaDeli just have to step it up and be in pace with the current market. This is to ensure that they wont fall behind.

The research Process Essay -- essays research papers fc

Processes of research by Jonathan Guy In this essay I will outline the primary methods of conducting research, their advantages and disadvantages and will outline where they are best utilised. In addition to this, I will select certain methods of research that I believe will be applicable to my own dissertation and state why I will use those particular methods to conduct my own research. The first question we should ask is what is research? John C. Merriam considers research as â€Å"a reaching out to bring together, organise and interpret what ever may be added to our store of knowledge†¦most truly exemplified when it involves the wider relationship of specific facts to the whole structure of knowledge†. (C. Merriam, 1941, pg890) In other words, something should be considered research when it adds to what we already know, especially if it does so through adding facts to out structure of knowledge. Obviously, this is but one definition of research, there being much contention over what research actually is, or what should constitute research, however, as a simple definition, this should suffice. This being the cases, what is the purpose of research and what do we gain from it? Wilson Gee writes in â€Å"The Research Spirit† that he believes the purpose of research is to advance the human cause, â€Å"it is not strange that the world appraises so highly the research spirit which has led it through the darkness of a past into the light of a present and will still guide it on beyond a golden dawn of a future† (Wilson Gee, 1915, pg 95-98). He believed the primary purpose of research itself was to search for the truth bringing to light new facts as well as reinterpreting old ones. Its purpose with regards to what we have gained from it is visible all around us. If the enlightened few has not proposed and conducted empirical research (people such as D. Hume, I. Kant, C. Darwin, I. Newton etc) of centuries past, if they had not begun â€Å"systematic studies of natural phenomena† from which man gained â€Å"not only insight into, but a great measure of control over, the physical universe, quite beyond the wildest dreams of the earliest pione ers in these fields† (Wilson Gee, 1950, Pg 179), it is arguable we would still be a religious driven, superstitious backwards people in a feudalist society, never advancing our search for knowledge, happy in our ignorance. To further state its impo... ...y offer the greatest advantage to me when writing my dissertation. Biblography (contains direct text references and references from within texts, web references, article references etc) John c. Merriam, â€Å"common arms of culture and research in the university†, Science, 1941 Wilson Gee, Social Science Research Methods, The University of Virginia Press, 1950 Wilson Gee, The research spirit, The Emory Phoenix (Emory University, Oxford, Georgia), 1915 John C. Merriam, Institutes for Research in the Natural Sciences, The University of Chicago Press, 1929 Social and Political Science Research Methods, Madan Lal Goel and V. B. Singh, Ajanta books international, 1996 Karl Pearson, The Grammar of Science (A. & C. Black, London, 1911) A. Wolf, Essentials of Scientific Method, The Machmillan Company, New York, 1938. Clifford R. Shaw, â€Å"Case Study Method†, Publications of the Sociology Society, 1927 Philip Sargant Florence, The Statistical Method in Economic and Political Science (Routledge and Kegan Paul, ltd, London), 1929 Shelby M. Harrison, A bibliography of social surveys, Russell Sage Foundations, 1930 A. D. Ritchie, Scientific Method, (Routledge and Kegan Paul, ltd, London), 1923 The research Process Essay -- essays research papers fc Processes of research by Jonathan Guy In this essay I will outline the primary methods of conducting research, their advantages and disadvantages and will outline where they are best utilised. In addition to this, I will select certain methods of research that I believe will be applicable to my own dissertation and state why I will use those particular methods to conduct my own research. The first question we should ask is what is research? John C. Merriam considers research as â€Å"a reaching out to bring together, organise and interpret what ever may be added to our store of knowledge†¦most truly exemplified when it involves the wider relationship of specific facts to the whole structure of knowledge†. (C. Merriam, 1941, pg890) In other words, something should be considered research when it adds to what we already know, especially if it does so through adding facts to out structure of knowledge. Obviously, this is but one definition of research, there being much contention over what research actually is, or what should constitute research, however, as a simple definition, this should suffice. This being the cases, what is the purpose of research and what do we gain from it? Wilson Gee writes in â€Å"The Research Spirit† that he believes the purpose of research is to advance the human cause, â€Å"it is not strange that the world appraises so highly the research spirit which has led it through the darkness of a past into the light of a present and will still guide it on beyond a golden dawn of a future† (Wilson Gee, 1915, pg 95-98). He believed the primary purpose of research itself was to search for the truth bringing to light new facts as well as reinterpreting old ones. Its purpose with regards to what we have gained from it is visible all around us. If the enlightened few has not proposed and conducted empirical research (people such as D. Hume, I. Kant, C. Darwin, I. Newton etc) of centuries past, if they had not begun â€Å"systematic studies of natural phenomena† from which man gained â€Å"not only insight into, but a great measure of control over, the physical universe, quite beyond the wildest dreams of the earliest pione ers in these fields† (Wilson Gee, 1950, Pg 179), it is arguable we would still be a religious driven, superstitious backwards people in a feudalist society, never advancing our search for knowledge, happy in our ignorance. To further state its impo... ...y offer the greatest advantage to me when writing my dissertation. Biblography (contains direct text references and references from within texts, web references, article references etc) John c. Merriam, â€Å"common arms of culture and research in the university†, Science, 1941 Wilson Gee, Social Science Research Methods, The University of Virginia Press, 1950 Wilson Gee, The research spirit, The Emory Phoenix (Emory University, Oxford, Georgia), 1915 John C. Merriam, Institutes for Research in the Natural Sciences, The University of Chicago Press, 1929 Social and Political Science Research Methods, Madan Lal Goel and V. B. Singh, Ajanta books international, 1996 Karl Pearson, The Grammar of Science (A. & C. Black, London, 1911) A. Wolf, Essentials of Scientific Method, The Machmillan Company, New York, 1938. Clifford R. Shaw, â€Å"Case Study Method†, Publications of the Sociology Society, 1927 Philip Sargant Florence, The Statistical Method in Economic and Political Science (Routledge and Kegan Paul, ltd, London), 1929 Shelby M. Harrison, A bibliography of social surveys, Russell Sage Foundations, 1930 A. D. Ritchie, Scientific Method, (Routledge and Kegan Paul, ltd, London), 1923

Eco365 Supply and Demand Simulation Paper

Supply and Demand Simulation ECO/365 Supply and Demand Simulation In the University of Phoenix simulation (2003), students are taken through the supply and demand of two-bedroom apartments in a city called Atlantis. The simulation itself is used as a tool to learn about the demand and supply curves as well as equilibrium. Other key learning points are the factors that affect supply and demand, the effect that a price ceiling has on the quantity demanded and the quantity supplied.Throughout the simulation, students determine the rental rates or how many apartments are rented out for a given month. A microeconomic principle that stood out at the beginning of the simulation was the use of the word â€Å"monopoly†. The simulated management organization has a monopoly in the rental field within Atlantis. I considered it to be a microeconomic principle in that it was limited to a certain region. On a macroeconomic scale, it would not hold true because of the fact that there are nume rous rental management organizations throughout the world.The second microeconomic principle from the simulation was the scenario in which the student is to determine a monthly rental rate that will remove the imbalance between quantity demanded and quantity supplied at the rental rate of $1550 (University of Phoenix, 2003). I consider this to be a microeconomic concept because each industry or field has its own norm for quantity demanded which definitely affects how much is supplied. An example of this is that of exotic cars. There is a limited number of these vehicles in demand which results in the manufacturers of these cars to build only a limited amount.A macroeconomic principle that showed through in the simulation was that for any product, more quantity is demanded at a lower price, other things remaining constant. To apply that to a microeconomic scale using the simulation as an example, when the rental rate was reduced, more individuals were willing to rent apartments which led to a lower vacancy rate. As the rental rate is lowered, revenue first increases, reached a maximum at a particular rate and quantity demanded, and decreases. The second macroeconomic principle from the simulation was the supply curve demonstration.The student is tasked to identify correctly, the rental rate that the company would charge if it were to lease out all of the apartments. For any supplier, production costs normally increase for each additional unit of the product. In the case of the simulation, it was maintenance costs that were added for each unit rented out. This added cost meant that the rental rate had to increase as well. When the rental rate increased, the number of apartments that management was willing to lease out increased. This was a basic demonstration of how the supply curve works.At one point within the simulation, there is a shift in the demand curve. This is because there was an increase in the population in the city. At any given rental rate, more pe ople rented apartments. This resulted in an increase in demand but the supply remained the same. As a result, the demand curve shifted to the right. The new equilibrium price is now higher than before and the number of apartments demanded and supplied increases. The change in expectations of management caused the supply of two-bedroom apartments to decrease.The expectation was that more individuals would prefer to live in a condo vice the two-bedroom apartment. It also eventually occurred and as a result, this factor caused the supply curve to shift to the left or decrease because there was not only a decrease in the demand for the two-bedroom but also a decrease in the supply. Since the shift in supply was greater than the shift in the demand, the price of rent increases. Had it been the other way around, the rental rate would have declined. Through this simulation, I was able to understand the affect of price ceilings.In the case of the simulation, while tenants could only be char ged up to a certain amount, they might be subjected to make up a portion of the difference by higher deposits in order to lease. Price ceilings could also lead to discrimination in the form of choosing tenants on the basis of race, socioeconomic status, etcetera because the number of units that are available far exceeds the number of units the company is able to rent out due to costs. References University of Phoenix. (2003). Applying supply and demand concepts [Multimedia]. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, ECO365 website.

Montague-Capulet Feud in Romeo and Juliet

In Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet, two noble families are at war with each other, a state of affairs which ultimately dooms the young lovers. Romeo is of House Montague and Juliet is a Capulet. We never learn the origin of the feud between the two families, but it pervades the play from the very first scene when servants from each house get into a fight. All of the major events in Romeo and Juliet are driven by the Montague-Capulet dispute. But after the tragic death of their children at the end of the play, both families agree to bury their grievances and acknowledge their losses. Via their tragic deaths, Romeo and Juliet resolve the long-standing conflict between their respective families, but unfortunately, do not live to enjoy the peace. But who’s who in the Montague-Capulet feud? The following list divides the play’s characters by family: House of Montague The House of Montague includes these key players: Montague.  Father to Romeo and married to Lady Montague, he’s concerned about his son at the start of the play and asks Benvolio to help him figure out what’s bothering Romeo.Lady Montague.  Romeo’s mother is less of a presence in the play than Juliet’s mother, but in the few scenes we see her, she appears to love her son deeply. When Romeo is banished, she dies of grief.Romeo. The son, and heir of the Montague house, Romeo is 16 years old and falls in and out of â€Å"love† easily, until meeting Juliet. He kills Tybalt after Tybalt kills Romeo’s friend Mercutio.Benvolio. He is  Montague’s nephew and Romeo’s cousin. Benvolio tries to be a good influence on Romeo, persuading him to forget about the erstwhile Rosaline. He mainly acts as a peacemaker and friend to Romeo.Balthasar.  Romeo’s serving man unintentionally tells Romeo of Juliet’s â€Å"death† (In fact, she’s taken poison to appear dead ). House of Capulet Lord Capulet. Juliet’s father is the family patriarch and tries to control his daughter by arranging a marriage to Paris. When she refuses, he calls her terrible names and threatens to throw her out: Hang thee, young baggage! disobedient wretch!I tell thee what: get thee to church o Thursday,Or never after look me in the faceAnd you be mine, Ill give you to my friend;And you be not, hang, beg, starve, die in the streets! Lady Capulet. Juliet’s mother, while more understanding of her daughter is almost as angered by Juliet’s refusal to marry Paris as Lord Capulet is. She dismisses Juliet outright: Talk not to me, for Ill not speak a word; do as thou wilt, for I am done with thee.Juliet Capulet. At age 13, Juliet is about to be married to Paris and is deeply unhappy about it. But everything changes when she meets Romeo, despite his being from the rival Montague family. The two fall in love and are secretly married, but end up killing themselves when each believes the other to be dead.Juliet’s Nurse. She is more of a mother figure to Juliet than Lady Capulet and knows the young woman better than anyone else in her family. The Nurse’s sense of humor lends some much-needed levity to the play. She’s the only one who helps Juliet in her quest to be with Romeo, even though she doesn’t fully understand the intensity of Juliet’s feelings.Tybalt. Lady Capuletâ₠¬â„¢s nephew and Juliet’s cousin is the main antagonist of Romeo and Juliet, owing to his deep hatred of the Montagues. Short-tempered and vindictive, Tybalt is quick to draw his sword in anger. His killing is a pivotal moment in the play.