abhishreshthaa
Abhijeet S
Pest Analysis On Applebees International, Inc : Applebee’s International, Inc. is a United States company which develops, franchises, and operates the Applebee's Neighborhood Grill and Bar restaurant chain. As of November 25, 2007, there were 1,965 restaurants operating system-wide in 49 states, 17 countries, and one U.S. territory. The company's headquarters are in Lenexa, KS.
The Applebee's concept focuses on casual dining with mainstream American dishes such as salads, shrimp, chicken, pasta, and "riblets" (which is considered Applebee's signature item). All Applebee's restaurants feature a bar area and serve alcoholic beverages (except where prohibited by law).
In November 2007, IHOP announced that it had completed a $1.9 billion purchase of the Applebee's chain
The Applebee's chain was started by Bill and T.J. Palmer who opened their first restaurant, T.J. Applebee’s Rx for Edibles & Elixirs, in Decatur, Georgia on January 1, 1980. After opening their second restaurant the pair sold their company to W. R. Grace and Company in 1983. As part of the transaction, Bill Palmer was named president of the Applebee's Division an indirect subsidiary of W. R. Grace and Company. In that capacity, Palmer guided the operation from its entrepreneurial beginnings to a full-fledged franchise system. He became an Applebee's franchisee in 1985 and today owns more than three dozen Applebee's restaurants.
Key Product Segments
Consulting is a very diverse industry. There are hundreds of different services that consultants provide to all industries and industry sectors.
Key Market Segments
Key market segments vary by consulting specialty. The key markets for consulting services are corporations, municipal, regional, provincial, and national governments, crown corporations and institutions such as hospitals and educational facilities. The total size of these markets is unknown because they are continually changing and there are no tracking mechanisms in place to accurately determine how much these market segments spend on consulting services annually.
Purchase Process and Buying Criteria
The buying process for consulting services varies by type of client and by type of service. Businesses find and choose consulting firms using several methods.
1. Referral
Businesses find consultants through their lending institutions, business or industry associations, friends or colleagues, and the yellow pages. Businesses contact these consulting firms to obtain proposals and price quotes for the required services. A consulting firm is chosen based on the needs of the client such as price, quality of proposal, as well as the reputation, past experience and level of expertise of the consulting firm.
2. Request for Proposal
Government and other businesses requiring consulting services sometimes distribute a Request for Proposals to a number of consulting firms that they would like to bid on a specific project. These consulting firms submit proposals for the projects they wish to bid on outlining the scope if the work, the methodology, a work plan and price quote. These proposals are evaluated based on a predetermined set of criteria developed by the client. The proposal evaluation criteria varies by project and client but usually includes price, quality of proposal, and the reputation, past experience and level of expertise of the consulting firm.
Description of Industry Participants
Consulting firms are divided into large firms with more than 100 employees, medium sized firms with 20 to 100 employees and small firms with less than 20 employees. Majority of consultants in Hong Kong are employed at large firms. The large consulting firms in Hong Kong are usually based abroad (United States and United Kingdom). Small firms typically have less than 10 employees.
Key Industry Trends
The consulting industry is growing for two reasons. One is that demand for consulting services is increasing as companies downsize and contract out work that was historically done in-house. Corporate downsizing has also resulted in many managers being laid off. It is difficult for many of these people to find similar employment and as a result, many of these managers start their own businesses. Approximately 10 percent become consultants, many providing consulting services to the firms they just left. Those who start other types of businesses may require specialized consulting services to improve their chances of success. Therefore corporate downsizing has resulted in an increase both in the supply of, and demand for, consulting services.
The Applebee's concept focuses on casual dining with mainstream American dishes such as salads, shrimp, chicken, pasta, and "riblets" (which is considered Applebee's signature item). All Applebee's restaurants feature a bar area and serve alcoholic beverages (except where prohibited by law).
In November 2007, IHOP announced that it had completed a $1.9 billion purchase of the Applebee's chain
The Applebee's chain was started by Bill and T.J. Palmer who opened their first restaurant, T.J. Applebee’s Rx for Edibles & Elixirs, in Decatur, Georgia on January 1, 1980. After opening their second restaurant the pair sold their company to W. R. Grace and Company in 1983. As part of the transaction, Bill Palmer was named president of the Applebee's Division an indirect subsidiary of W. R. Grace and Company. In that capacity, Palmer guided the operation from its entrepreneurial beginnings to a full-fledged franchise system. He became an Applebee's franchisee in 1985 and today owns more than three dozen Applebee's restaurants.
Key Product Segments
Consulting is a very diverse industry. There are hundreds of different services that consultants provide to all industries and industry sectors.
Key Market Segments
Key market segments vary by consulting specialty. The key markets for consulting services are corporations, municipal, regional, provincial, and national governments, crown corporations and institutions such as hospitals and educational facilities. The total size of these markets is unknown because they are continually changing and there are no tracking mechanisms in place to accurately determine how much these market segments spend on consulting services annually.
Purchase Process and Buying Criteria
The buying process for consulting services varies by type of client and by type of service. Businesses find and choose consulting firms using several methods.
1. Referral
Businesses find consultants through their lending institutions, business or industry associations, friends or colleagues, and the yellow pages. Businesses contact these consulting firms to obtain proposals and price quotes for the required services. A consulting firm is chosen based on the needs of the client such as price, quality of proposal, as well as the reputation, past experience and level of expertise of the consulting firm.
2. Request for Proposal
Government and other businesses requiring consulting services sometimes distribute a Request for Proposals to a number of consulting firms that they would like to bid on a specific project. These consulting firms submit proposals for the projects they wish to bid on outlining the scope if the work, the methodology, a work plan and price quote. These proposals are evaluated based on a predetermined set of criteria developed by the client. The proposal evaluation criteria varies by project and client but usually includes price, quality of proposal, and the reputation, past experience and level of expertise of the consulting firm.
Description of Industry Participants
Consulting firms are divided into large firms with more than 100 employees, medium sized firms with 20 to 100 employees and small firms with less than 20 employees. Majority of consultants in Hong Kong are employed at large firms. The large consulting firms in Hong Kong are usually based abroad (United States and United Kingdom). Small firms typically have less than 10 employees.
Key Industry Trends
The consulting industry is growing for two reasons. One is that demand for consulting services is increasing as companies downsize and contract out work that was historically done in-house. Corporate downsizing has also resulted in many managers being laid off. It is difficult for many of these people to find similar employment and as a result, many of these managers start their own businesses. Approximately 10 percent become consultants, many providing consulting services to the firms they just left. Those who start other types of businesses may require specialized consulting services to improve their chances of success. Therefore corporate downsizing has resulted in an increase both in the supply of, and demand for, consulting services.
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