Td o connell wichita ks

Summary

Hog Wild BBQ has been ranked very high for BBQ in Kansas. Local people would agree that their sauce has Zen ingredients that have their taste buds coming back for more! From the succulent meat choices, to the special sauce, this restaurant has all of the wonderful sides to go with the meals. Hog Wild has filled a niche in the Plains with slow roasted food that is more like Grandma’s style than fast food can offer. I know there are many people that look for an inexpensive BBQ that offers drive through, carry out and dine in, and Hog Wild does that for me and many of my neighbors. They have catering for company picnics or family reunion gatherings. Judging by the expansion to five locations in Wichita Kansas as well as being in three other cities, Hog Wild restaurant will be around for a while. So why not franchise them? This paper begins an in depth analysis of the possibility of franchising this delectable restaurant that so many are fond of. Let’s explore what is compelling about their food and why it would be popular in other locations or states besides Kansas. We can take a close look at their business system to see what elements make it successful. What is it about them that endear their customers to love them? We will examine the quandary of “should I choose franchising versus licensing?” We can identify their competition in the marketplace and who would be their potential target market. What type of customers are they looking for to become loyal Hog Wild fans? What niche are they filling in the food service industry today?

Gary Poulton started Hog Wild Pit BBQ in Hutchinson, Kansas on its Main Street location. From there, he expanded the brand out to multiple Wichita, Kansas locations and some other smaller surrounding cities in Kansas. Then, in 2012, he had gone as far as he wanted in the growth of the business. He entered into negotiations and sold his investment in the company to T.D. O’Connell. The new owner has years of experience in restaurant management from being a former restaurant CEO and President and would be able to take it farther in its expansion. T.D. O’Connell is optimistic about the opening of the branch in Lawrence, Kansas (opening June of 2014) and then possible branching into Nebraska and Iowa if the Lawrence branch does well.

Some of the awards that the restaurant has acquired thus far are: Salina Journal’s 2013 Readers Choice Awards, First Place for The Hutchinson News Readers Choice Award 2013, Voted Best in Hutchinson for BBQ Ribs, The Wichita Eagle’s 2012 and 2013 Readers Choice Award Winner. Catering has been a good business move especially in the Wichita area because of the population size. There are many industrial plants, medical, and health fields in the surrounding area that use Hog Wild’s catering service for their employees and this keeps the business very busy. The Hutchinson restaurant has a very good but also busy location which is right on Main Street that sees heavy traffic daily. That branch has not yet expanded, but should. It has a very busy drive through, but due to its location vehicles back out onto Main Street in the busiest hours of the day. The kitchen is small but friendly. The atmosphere is very casual and the people are very well trained on their menu items. They have a very large selection of succulent meats with sides and toast. There is a condiments bar with ketchup, mustards, pickles, onions, and peppers. They have about nine booths, and 10-12 tables with checkered tablecloths to seat people. They have a niche in the food business that includes a plate of BBQ and sides for fewer than eight dollars and a drive through and catering to go with. Many consumers want the convenience of a drive through with food that you might have eaten at a backyard BBQ. This brings value with also offering that home BBQ flavor off the grill that so many like.

The target market for the restaurant would be non-vegetarian women or men that are between the ages of 20-60, single, couples, or young families, who are in a hurry and want a home-cooked meal. These target customers are looking for a family meal where they can choose to dine in or out (drive through) or have it catered to their gathering. There are many industrial factories around the area and farming is a large industry so beef, pork, and turkey are local favorite meats. This is the type of food that you would expect to see at a neighborhood picnic, but in today’s mad rush most people don’t have the time to smoke it themselves. So for them, this is fast, home-cooked, backyard BBQ taste is the answer!

What if we analyze the opportunity against Porter’s five forces of the niche to see how strong it holds up? The following is a chart of the five forces on a niche.

http://www.caneval.com/images/pictures/fiveforcesmodel.jpg

(Chart accessed from Caneval Ventures, 2013)

New Entrant, Industry Competitors, Rivalry Determinants

Starting at the top of the chart with new entrant threats and competitors, it is possible to analyze threats to Hog Wild’s Franchising opportunities. Hog Wild’s best strategy is to pursue the Best Value, Type 5 from Porter’s generic strategies (David, 2012). Below is a list of seven top BBQ style restaurants in US according to a report from Nations Restaurant News, 2013:

Famous Dave’s BBQ is based in Minnesota but since then it’s simple menu and small restaurants have spread out into 192 units worldwide including Canada, Mexico, and now internationally franchising. By far this is one of the biggest competitors of Hog Wild’s brand because it is already franchising internationally. This can also be a model for Hog Wild brand because it too may have the possibility to break into international markets with demand for similar products in the future.

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit was founded in Texas in 1941 and started franchising about 20 years ago. It has grown to 311 units in 39 states as of 2013. It is famous for pulled pork and brisket as well as many other meats, 10 types of vegetables, desert, and free ice cream. Their brand is smaller and less of a threat but the large variety of vegetables can broaden the menu for vegetarians and the free ice cream brings families with children to the restaurant. Good concepts to monitor the competing brands success in.

Smokey Bones has had its growth problems in the past and has changed ownership. It grew to 127 restaurants, but was struggling for a while trying to broaden its menu. Since it was sold to different ownership, it reduced its operations to 66 units that include the states of Washington DC, Illinois, Indiana, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, New York, and Virginia. It changed its name to Smokey Bones Bar and Fire Grill and has concentrated on the smoker and bar scene, trying to get both more popular.

Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-B-Cue is an Alabama company that boasts 30 units, operating in Georgia, North and South Carolina, Colorado, and Tennessee. They are mostly famous for their pork shoulder that is smoked slowly. Their dinner menu has some nontraditional items as well. They are also very involved in the community and with the farmers in Alabama. They are working on coming up with their own hog breed.

Dinosaur Bar-B-Cue is a New York based sports bar type restaurant that has recently also expanded to Connecticut and New Jersey. They offer “pork ribs, pulled pork, wings, sausage and smoked chicken.”(Thorn, 2013.) They also offer non BBQ items as well.

Old Carolina Barbecue Company is made up of seven units and is based in Ohio, but made from the Carolina style of food. People in the Carolinas love-smoked beef brisket, pork, chicken, and ribs with their tangy vinegar based sauce.

Calhoun’s is a seven unit chain only based in Tennessee featuring hickory smoked pork, fried catfish, shrimp, and chicken.

Barriers to Entry & Suppliers

If Hog Wild were to branch out and consider franchising, large scale financing would be a necessity. They would need a business plan to be able to secure this financing. (See page 8 for brief summary of business plan inclusions and 12 month count down plan to franchise.) They would have to meet with local farmers and meat distributers to find new area suppliers. The larger scale costs of suppliers and products would not pose a threat if they grew slowly into other geographical U.S. states. They would have to establish their local menu and brand awareness state by state. Hog Wild would have to establish enough research on their target customers to be able to reach them effectively on a larger scale, slowly testing the success/failure marketing bought with each campaign.

With the rising cost of beef prices, the impact of USDA policies it is important to watch external forces on the industry. These factors can cause undue hardship for the economy and the business. Consideration must be taken to minimize risk factors as much as possible in each location. Pricing and menu items can be changed to reflect constant profits to the franchisees, but final decisions for these changes must rest with the franchisor. If they could keep a basic menu for simplifying the business system, this can be modified to reach tastes in each market in individual basis depending on demand, suppliers, product availability, and costs. The simpler the business system, the less expensive start-up cost would be for the franchisor to create proprietary materials and training needed for the franchisees.

Substitutes

Threat of substitutes could be by grocers in the local area selling cooked, smoked meat. Dillon’s is very big in Kansas and they provide in-house smoked BBQ meat, but their substitute is not as tasty. Very dry meat due to excessive heat makes it a less desirable product. Walmart has a few items in meat department but they are overpriced and small portion sizes that are non-satisfactory to shoppers. The value in the large portion sizes comparatively for the Hog Wild’s products far outweigh any substitutes on the market today. It is advisable to have the central franchisor constantly assess substitutions in new locations prior to expanding as each may differ.