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Abstract

This case explores the precarious situation of an extremely successful restaurant chain based in the United Arab Emirates. At the time of the case in March 2020, the company is operating over 50 restaurants within the region, with some 40 of those restaurants based in Dubai. Faced with a total shutdown of all operations in Dubai due to a government decree to try and abate the spread of COVID-19, the management team must rapidly decide upon a new strategy going forward. The available options range from simply engaging a holding pattern, to a total revamp of the company operations and business model. Foreign expansion is also a consideration.

Objective

1. The most obvious is to provide students with an overview of the management of a black swan situation, or what some might more traditionally refer to as crisis management. 2. On another level, there is the marketing challenge of managing the entire mix for some 50 operations spread throughout the Emirates, with an emphasis upon Dubai. Each restaurant had its own personality, and its own existing customer base. 3. The case also provides an opportunity to discuss the “de-marketing” of a product or service. There can be situations where a company or enterprise can be faced with having to shrink its operations which to some extent runs contrary to what we normally teach in marketing. In this particular case, fundamental demand remains, but traditional distribution channels have either been frozen or severely curtailed. 4. There is also the issue of dealing with personnel, almost all of whom are foreigners working in the country under very specific conditions. This adds an additional dimension of corporate social and legal responsibility and complexity.

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Type
Case Study