Research by: Swati Soni, Sandeep Puri, Shweta Pandey, & Tina Jain
Abstract
Tea Connect, a chain of five tea cafés in India, had ended 2019 with sales revenues of ₹48.1 million. The co-founder of Tea Connect had the ambitious target of opening 20 cafés and achieving sales revenues of ₹200 million by 2020. The co-founder planned the renovation of the cafés to improve the speed of service, but he also wanted to launch Tea Connect–branded consumer packaged products. Three franchising offers for stores in Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Mount Abu were also under consideration. He was wondering whether renovation would help to enhance the customer experience and whether this was the right time to launch consumer packaged goods. Also, was it the right time to explore the franchise route of expansion?
Learning Objective
This case is designed for use in a graduate-level course on entrepreneurship or strategy. This case presents an ideal platform through which to assess the strategic choices available to an enterprise, to evaluate the alternatives, and to devise strategies for the successful expansion of a business. After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to
- analyze the strategic choices available to an entrepreneurial firm, assess the alternatives, and develop strategies for the successful conduct of the business;
- explain the importance of customer experience management and customer satisfaction in the services sector;
- understand the implementation of the servuction model in the café business; and
- evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of the franchising option in the café business.
Issues: services marketing, servuction model, zone of tolerance, customer experience management, franchising, brand management
Disciplines: Marketing, Entrepreneurship, International
Industries: Accommodation & Food Services
Setting: India, Small, 2020
Intended Audience: MBA/Postgraduate
To cite this case: Soni, S., Puri, S., Pandey, S., & Jain, T. (2020). Tea Connect: Exploring new options. Ivey ID: 9B20A059. London, Canada: Ivey Publishing
To access this case: https://www.iveycases.com/ProductView.aspx?id=110338
