Oliver's Super Sandwiches

Contents

1. Overview of the Café de Coral Group                                                        

2. Situation Analysis of Oliver’s Super Sandwiches                                 

entering Shanghai                                                                                                

2.1. External Analysis                                                                                        

2.1.1. Political                                                                                                        

2.1.2. Economic                                                                                                

2.1.3. Social                                                                                                        

2.1.4. Technological                                                                                        

2.2 Internal Capabilities                                                                                        

3. Market Research of Shanghai                                                                        

4. Conclusion and Recommendations                                                                

5. Reference                                                                                                                

Introducing Oliver’s Super Sandwiches to Shanghai

1. Overview of the Café de Coral Group

Oliver’s Super Sandwiches (Oliver’s) is one of the fast casual dining restaurants of Café de Coral Group. Café de Coral Group engaged in operating Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) and specialty restaurant chains and has successfully diversified both vertically and horizontally into the institutional catering and food processing business. Under QSR unit, there are Café de Coral, Super Super Congee & Noodles, Mixian Sense, Shanghai Lao Lao, Lane Noodles, Manchu WOK, expressamente illy, MIX, 85oC, Ichigyo Sushi and Oliver’s Super Sandwiches (Café de Coral, 2014).

Mainland China is the second strongest contributor and growth engine for the Group, increasingly fuelling the group’s Company’s performance. The Group’s total revenue from all of the group’s business operations in Mainland China surged by approximately 10% compared with last year. The Group attributes this satisfactory business performance to the group’s long-term strategy of adding value and the group’s team’s ability to take immediate steps to capture opportunities arising from changes in dining trends.

Manchu WOK chain is the North American Operations of Café de Coral Group that it faced a very challenging business environment last year, with consumer spending greatly affected by the economic slowdown in the region. The Company prudently provided for full impairment of the carrying amount of the goodwill for the business in the Group’s financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2014. Management is in the process of reviewing the Manchu WOK business and mapping the way forward for the business within the parameters of the Group’s 5-year plan (Aastocks, 2014).

1. Situation Analysis of Oliver’s entering Shanghai

1. External Analysis

1. Political

1. Pilot Free Trade Zone

Shanghai has established the Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ). By the end of 2013, over 3,600 enterprises had registered in the FTZ (Shanghai Customs Districts, 2014). The free trade zone quickened steps in implementing of framework approved by the State Council by carrying out further and innovative measures in investment management, trade regulation, financial innovation and overall supervision.

Oliver’s can import ingredients according to new trade regulations, which is around 17% import tax for food importing to Shanghai, and managed under the new investment management system.

1. Reforms in Key Sectors

Shanghai deepened its reforms in key sectors. In 2013, the city worked out a plan to modify government’s roles and functions and completed the reforms of some government agencies. The third round of a three-year plan reforms was also successfully completed, with a number of pilot reform initiatives in market supervision implemented. After reforming specific sectors of Shanghai, reformed areas will need enterprises, capitals and workforces to redevelop the economy of those areas, which is a good chance for Oliver’ s to enter the market of new areas. In order to attract people to invest, Shanghai charged enterprises very low operation tax, which is around 5% of its revenue for catering (Shanghai Gov’t, 2014).

1. Opening Up

Shanghai took full advantage of its pilot policy effects and continued to implement the overall strategy of driving economic development by reform and opening up. Oliver’s can import raw materials and ingredients in a less complicated trading way as the opening up policy help lower the constraints of goods importing from other countries compare to the past.

1. International Sister Cities

By the end of 2013, Shanghai had established sister-city relationship or friendship ties with 75 cities (provinces, states, regions, prefectures, counties or districts) of 53 countries. In 2013, Laos and Seychelles opened their consulates in Shanghai, bringing the total number of such diplomatic offices in the city to 73. Under the sister-city relationship, goods that are imported from these countries will be charged according to the lowest import tax rate that is much lower than that of the normal tax rate, which is around 11% tax rate (Shanghai Customs Districts, 2014).