The Coop Case Analysis

Opinion By –
Arkesh Sharma (EPGP-06-158)
Radhesh PV (EPGP-06-051)
Abhishek Bansal (EPGP-06-167)
Tanvi Chandra (EPGP-06-143)

Case Summary:
The Coop is a Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) which serves chicken. It was opened in 1974. It is growing at a steady rate of 10%. The primary motto of the Coop was “We are Chicken” which worked on a simple philosophy – “To provide the Best tasting meal around by specializing in the preparation and delivery of Chicken”. The side dishes include French fries, baked potatoes, corn on the cob and two types of chicken sandwiches.
The sales of the company reached $58.9 million in 1994. The Coop was competing against KFC neck-to-neck.
In 1995, company sales were suddenly hit. The sales were down in 20 out of 76 restaurants. The struggling restaurants were considered the strongest. Those 20 restaurants account for 32% of total retail sales. Average decline is 6%.
The CEO, Daryl Buckmeister, decided to pay a visit to the slumping stores and figure out the root-cause of the issue.
Buckmeister’s managers agreed on the need of the programmatic market research, they agreed on little else.
Anita McMichael (VP of Quality) proposed –
1. Quality Inspection Plan
2. Taste Test
Michael Trevor (VP of Marketing) suggested –
1. Focus Groups
2. Brand Image Monitoring Survey (BIMS)
3. Customer Experience Study (CES)
Buckmeister believed that the not only the quality of food mattered but the entire dining experience.
Soon