Red Crab Group - Case Analysis - Alvin Bilolo Spentrep

THE RED CRAB GROUP: Developing Multi-Brand Restaurant Concepts - Alvin Bilolo

Situation Analysis

It is thus very evident that the red crab group grew successfully as time goes by. From the small beginnings of a restaurant in Clark, Pampanga that caters food to high-end casino players and ‘high rollers,’ they are now conquering the market with different restaurant concepts lying in one goal and mission – to be known as a seafood restaurant. The concept and determination of Raymond Magdaluyo to be known as such and not just Filipino or Asian restaurant drives the group of company into a huge success. There are a lot of factors that contributes to where the company is right now and those factors are worth evaluating and studying for.

Problem Analysis

Like any other businesses, the Red Crab group undergoes a lot of challenges and difficulties while the operation of their business in on-going. They have started several restaurants without studying their market first. They haven’t position their business in the market. There is indeed a problem on positioning and knowing the target market. One factor that could contribute to their instant success in their early stage of development is that food industry is actually booming in the Philippines. Whenever there are new restaurants in town, a lot of people are willing to try it to see if it is good. The challenge is on how to retain your market and find ways to sustain and let your business fully grow.

Raymond himself acknowledges that he needs to position his restaurant first. It is indeed true for any businesses. There are a lot of things that should be considered while starting/opening and running a business. Raymond admits that he lacks market research and this somehow contributes to the decline in sales of his restaurant for a while. The good thing is that he was able to identify his lapses quickly and find alternatives and solutions to address them.

Alternative Generation

Raymond tried repositioning his restaurants. As an entrepreneur, it is true that we need to know first how we want to be branded in the market. In a simpler parlance, we must really know who we are first before we market ourselves. We need to know our vision and mission. In this case, they wanted to be branded as a ‘crab and seafood restaurant.’ This is a challenge for the company since they can easily be associated as a Filipino or Asian restaurant, but with their moves, they have proven and let the people see that they are a ‘crab and seafood restaurant.’

Another move that the company did is to give what their clients wanted. For the Greenbelt 3, they conceptualized a new seafood restaurant fitted with the place. For Rockwell, they made a mixture of Asian seafood cuisines since it is the demand of the place. This is a good strategy though they really need to do a sort of research to cater the need of the crowd. This greatly affects their success since they give what the market needs. In business, you should either give what your market needs or tempt them to like what you are offering them.

The restaurant also emphasize that they are not just selling crabs, rather they are selling experience. It is worthy to note that people patronize your restaurant not just because they love your products but also because they have a satisfying experience with what you are offering.

They also did an extensive product development and market research to create a great menu for each restaurant that they have. This is a very important thing to do when we are having our business. We should never stop innovation. There must always be something new for the market. Our customers should be surprised with what we can offer them – an extraordinary service for very valuable customers.

Another important thing is the price positioning. As we define our market, we must also evaluate the prices of our products/services fitted for our market. This is true for the Red Crab group since they have different concepts and different prices which depend on the market where their restaurants are situated.

Decision Analysis

All alternatives enumerated above are helpful for the growth and success of Red Crab group. But above all else, I believe that the key factor to success of their business, and any other businesses, is that everyone should know what their vision or mission is. Every owner and even employee should live and act within their vision and mission. They should be moving forward in one vision. They should know who they are and reposition their business based on this accordingly. If vision and mission is clear, I believe the rest of the strategies will follow.

Action Analysis

In this case, Raymond determines their vision and mission which is focused on being the crab and seafood restaurant chain. They have the vision of being the top crab and seafood restaurant chain in the country. This vision and mission drive them to achieve their goals. They improve their industry and set standards that will last for generations. All businesses should thus have a fuel that will push them to do beyond what is expected of them.