Fra-Pa’s Frozen Yoghurt Shop: Partnership, Porters Five Forces, and Macroenvironmental Factors

FRA-PA’S FROZEN YOGHURT SHOP 1
Fra-Pa’s Frozen Yoghurt Shop
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FRA-PA’S FROZEN YOGHURT SHOP 2
Partnership as a form of business unit portrays a much broader scope compared to other
business units such as sole proprietorship (Boddy, 2014). It is when two or more persons
combine their effort to start and operate a business based on their common and shared duty with
regards to profits and losses that lead to partnership. In a nutshell, it is when sole proprietorship
is transformed into a partnership when more than one individual is integrated as a partner in the
enterprise (Kwat, 2013). The partnership involves individuals who may either be friends,
relatives or acquaintances.
In this case Frank and his partner Paddy Jackson in the business established a business
known as Fra-Pa’s Frozen Yoghurt Shop in the past eighteen months. The shop can be
categorized as an ice-cream parlor enterprise that uniquely deals with selling frozen yoghurt. The
ice-cream parlor is situated in the busy Bullring Shopping Center, Birmingham (Boddy, 2014).
The kind of partnership exhibited here seems symbiotic as both partners have relevant
experience in the hospitality sector and that makes it ideal in managing and operating the parlor.
Frank, for instance, is said to have worked for catering restaurant chain as a chef while Paddy o
the other hand, was a hospitality manager of a local hotel. It is the blending of such skills and
competencies that will transition the business as competitor marketing it as a unique enterprise in
the region. The idea to establish the parlor was inspired by the redundancy they experienced in
their previous place of work, and it is the little savings from their last redundant jobs that gave
them capital to start the business enterprise.
Regarding capital contribution, they both contributed €30000 which enabled them to
secure a three-year lease on the parlor and a working capital allowing them to pay their suppliers
and also have adequate stock to sustain their supply.
Porters five forces

FRA-PA’S FROZEN YOGHURT SHOP 3
Power of suppliers. This entails an evaluation of how easy it becomes for suppliers to
push prices up. It is a product of the number of suppliers of every significant input, relative size,
and power of the supplier (CGMA, 2012). Regarding the parlor, it seems Frank and Parlor have
only one supplier where they purchase all their frozen yoghurt from local cash and carry.
However, they are in a dilemma as to whether obtaining it from a local organic would accord
them a high-quality product that they could charge high prices due to its superiority. Their desire
to switch to another supplier is noble as they want quality products for their consumers. Having
many suppliers where they can their inputs from is much better as they can negotiate for better
prices for such products enabling them to get good returns.
Buyers power. This involves evaluating how easy it is for buyers to drag down the prices.
It is an outcome of several factors at play, for instance, many buyers in the market, switching
costs involved when a buyer moves from one supplier to another. The presence of few yet
powerful buyers enables them dictates the terms. Fra-Pa’s appeals to an array of customers who
frequent the shop during the weekdays or weekends. The parlor attracts workers from the area
during the day and is accustomed to shoppers with children during the day. During the
weekends, the teenagers and young adults visit the shop as a meeting place with their friends. In
this case, the power of the buyers seems less powerful as Fra-Pa’s is the only frozen ice cream
vendor in town making them control the demand of their product thus they can also maneuver
prices the way they want.
Competitive rivalry. The primary driver here is the number and the ability of competitors
in both the industry and the market. The presence of many competitors who offer similar
commodities tends to reduce the attractiveness of the market. In this scenario, Fra-Pa’s seems to