Degree
Master of Business Administration
Faculty / School
Faculty of Business Administration (FBA)
Advisor
Syed Akhtar Mahmud, Visiting Faculty, Department of Marketing
Committee Member 1
Akhtar Mahmood, Visiting Faculty, Business Administration - Academic Affairs Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi
Project Type
MBA Research Project
Keywords
https://ir.iba.edu.pk/do/search/?q=Hardee&start=0&context=8598587&facet=">Hardee, Brand repositioning, McDonald, Consumer insights, Customer preferences, Multi-national brands
Abstract / Summary
This report aims to strategize Brand Repositioning of Hardee’s within Karachi, Pakistan by performing consumer survey of 150 individuals of all age groups, taste test of 10 selected respondents while also conducting interview of 25 focused consumers. The report conducts secondary research via a literature review to design a framework in order to ascertain the brand itself and its perception within the market. The report further gauges the brand insights and consumer behavior concerning Hardee’s in conjunction with primary research (in-depth interviews, consumer surveys). The target audience for Hardee’s and McDonald’s is the same; however, the latter yields a greater portfolio of sub-brands.
The main target was to gather information about consumer insights by conducting focus groups and to learn about customer preferences (likes/dislikes) of Hardee’s by questionnaires. Moreover, the customer recommendations of how to revive Hardee’s in the Pakistani fast food market was taken and compared to Hardee’s international marketing strategy with the local strategy. Since its inception in Pakistan, Hardee’s performed well until recently when increase in local competition made it difficult for international brands to survive. From 2015 to 2019 Hardee’s has increased the number of outlets from 1 to 5, only in Karachi, however their average store sales have dropped by almost 40%.
The scope of the study was to highlight the issues customers have in selecting Hardee’s as a brand of choice through research. They should learn from the examples of other multi-national brands like McDonald’s who have managed to retain customers by offering them variety in the menu and by gradually increasing prices so that customers can adapt to the price increase. However, it is suggested that the franchise should focus on improving its marketing strategy.
Recommended Citation
Urooj, A., Rasheed, F., Raza, M., Mehreen, R., & Tahir, S. F. (2019). Brand repositioning of Hardee’s (Unpublished graduate research project). Institute of Business Administration, Pakistan. Retrieved from https://ir.iba.edu.pk/research-projects-mba/227
