Business Report: Evaluating LEON Restaurants' Performance and Growth

This report provides a comprehensive business analysis of LEON Restaurants, a UK-based fast-food chain. The introduction offers background information on the company, its founding, and its expansion. Task 1 presents a detailed profile of LEON Restaurants, including its organizational structure, operating locations, products, and key strengths such as its casual dining approach and CSR activities, as well as its weaknesses like high competition and pricing strategies. A comparative analysis of LEON's financial performance is also included, highlighting its growth and potential for future expansion. Task 2 focuses on recommendations to overcome identified weaknesses, such as formal dining options, competitive pricing, and securing funds for expansion. The report also analyzes ways to maintain and strengthen existing performance, emphasizing the importance of the casual dining approach, CSR activities, and product variety. Additionally, it recommends new areas for business expansion, including international expansion, increased product variety, and formal dining options. Task 3 analyzes LEON's current plans and objectives, and proposes changes. Task 4 discusses the impact of proposed changes, management strategies, and improvements in business performance. The report concludes with a summary of the findings and provides references to support the analysis.

SMALL BUSINESS ENTERPRISE

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................2
1.1 Profile of LEON Restaurants.................................................................................................2
1.2 Comparative Analysis of the performance of LEON Restaurants.........................................4
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
2.1 Recommend with justification, appropriate actions required to overcome the identified
weaknesses in LEON Restaurants...............................................................................................5
2.2 Analyze ways in which existing performance could be maintained and strengthened.........6
2.3 Recommend with justification the new areas in which the business could be expanded......6
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................8
3.1 Analysis of current plans and objectives of business............................................................8
3.2 Business plan and areas for changes......................................................................................9
3.3 Action plan to implement the changes...................................................................................9
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................11
4.1 Impact the proposed changes will have on the business and its personnel.........................11
4.2 Plan for how the changes will be managed in the business.................................................12
4.3 Improvements in the performance of the business over the past two years........................12
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................15

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: LEON Restaurants Profile.................................................................................................2

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Organisational Logo.........................................................................................................1
Figure 2: Exteriors of a LEON Store...............................................................................................2

INTRODUCTION
Small business indicates an independently owned and operated organisation that has
limited size and revenue which depends on the industry. These types of business organisation are
independently owned proprietorship, corporation, partnership that holds very less number of
employees as in regular size of business. Small business organisation has a limit of about 15
employees and they are categorised according to the sales, revenue, shipment and annual gross.
The report will describe about the background, structure and strength organizational activities
and also review the strength as well weakness of LEON Restaurants.
Report will also describe the comparison in the performance of marketing, production
and sales with another firm in same geographical area. Further report will express the
recommendation and justifications of the business to overcome the weakness. Moreover, report
also analyzes the ideas through which LEON Restaurants can strengthen the current situations of
the organisation and recommend the new ideas trough which the business can be expanded. At
the end, report will discuss about the impacts of proposed changes and management strategies to
meet the objectives of the organisation.
Figure 1: Organisational Logo
(Source: LEON Restaurants, 2017)
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TASK 1
1.1 Profile of LEON Restaurants
Company Introduction
LEON Restaurants is a UK based fast food chain that was founded in the year 2004 by
Henry Dimbleby, John Vincent, and Allegra McEvedy in Carnaby Street, Soho in London. The
organisation has since expanded gradually in a time span of 13 years and from 1 outlet the
organisation has grown into 47 outlets. The organisation was named after the father of John
Vincent, Leon Vincent (LEON, 2017). After 6 months of opening the organisation received the
title of “Best New Restaurant in Great Britain” at The Observer Food Monthly Awards, and that
marked the beginning of its expansion and there was no looking back after this. Two of the
founders John Vincent and Henry Dimbleby have introduced School Food Plan for the school
going children in UK and were awarded by the UK government with MBEs in the year 2015.
Figure 2: Exteriors of a LEON Store
(Source: LEON Restaurants, 2017)
The profile of the business is as follows:
Table 1: LEON Restaurants Profile
Subject Details
1. Organisation LEON Restaurants
2. Operating United Kingdom (Various cities)
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Location
3. Founders Henry Dimbleby, John Vincent, and Allegra McEvedy
4. Industry Fast Food
5. Size Approx 47 restaurants
6. Products fast food products, beverages, kitchen accessories, cookbooks
7. Age 13 years
8. Type Private Limited
9. Official Website http://leonrestaurants.co.uk/
10. Location of
Foundation
Carnaby Street, Soho in London
11. Logo
12. Footprint Domestic
Strengths of LEON Restaurants: Casual Dining Approach is effective as people from all age groups can comfortably dine
in the casual atmosphere of LEON The CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) activities of the founders like the School
Food Plan enhance the organisational image The variety of products in fast food as well as other products like cook books and kitchen
accessories provide diversity to the customers and thus the interest of the customers can
be maintained (LEON, 2017). The increasing number of outlets is increasing the approach as well as awareness
regarding the organisation.
Weaknesses of LEON Restaurants The customers looking for formal dining cannot dine at LEON Restaurants High Competition The pricing of LEON products needs to be more reasonable
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 There is a requirement of more funds for expansion
1.2 Comparative Analysis of the performance of LEON Restaurants
The average earning of LEON Restaurants is £35000 per annum. The organisation has
greatly improved in terms of financial performance in the past few years. The organisation is
continuously putting in efforts so as to earn more and more profits with the objective of complete
satisfaction of the stakeholders. The measurement of the performance of the organisation is being
carried out on the basis of income as the ultimate end result of any business is income/profits that
are generated with the help of business operations (Storey, 2016). The organisation has
experienced a significant expansion as compared to its age and is still said to have promising
future prospects. The continuous investment of not only monetary but other resources also
proves to fuelling agents for the growth of the organisation. Not all organisations get sufficient
resources for growth and expansion.
The performance of the organisation can be improved in various ways like by improving
the marketing as well as pricing strategy of the products by LEON. Other organisations that are
of same size as LEON Restaurants are experiencing growth at slower rates as compared to
LEON. There are increased opportunities of growth and expansion for LEON due to its faster
pace of growth as more and more investors see promising prospects of business in the
organisation. The increased investments can also lead to international expansion of the
organisation if proper planning is done.
Therefore there are prospects of internationalisation of the business of LEON restaurants.
The organisation can also plan to increase the dividend and also focus on paying the business
debts on time. The organisation has to earn enough to pay for the expenses of the business so as
to survive as an organisation (Barber, et al. 2016). These expenses involve electricity bills, rent
salary of staffs etc. The organisation should focus on the minimisation of losses as it results in
weakening of the financial position of the organisation.
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TASK 2
2.1 Recommend with justification, appropriate actions required to overcome the identified
weaknesses in LEON Restaurants
In the above task, certain weaknesses of LEON Restaurants were identified and there is a
need to face these weaknesses in order to strengthen the organisation as a whole (Kozan, and
Akdeniz, 2014). The identified weaknesses can be overcome with the help of following
suggestions:
 Formal Dining: There are many customers that prefer to dine at fine dining restaurants
and not in casual dining cafes. These customers do not get attracted towards LEON
Restaurants even after provision of quality food and services at reasonable prices as all
they are looking for is the atmosphere, products and services of a fine dining. The
organisation can open a few stores with ambience of a fine dining or even modify the
present stores in terms of interiors and culture.
 Increased Competition: The market for fast food restaurants in UK is highly
competitive and it proves to be a challenge for the organisation that is to be overcome.
The organisation has to try its best in order to gain the competitive advantage in order to
face the competition in the market. The products of LEON should be developed as per
market demands and a competitive pricing strategy should be set.
 Pricing Strategy: The pricing strategy of the organisation needs to be competitive as the
customers tend to incline towards businesses that have low prices. If the pricing strategy
of a business is competitive it gains a competitive advantage in the market and therefore
the sales are improved of the organisation (Omri, and Ayadi-Frikha, 2014). Customers
get easily attracted to lesser prices so the organisation can enhance the customer base
with the help of competitive pricing and also the brand image of LEON Restaurants will
be improved.
 Funds for Expansion: The organisation wants to expand the business overseas and
therefore there is a requirement of more funds for expansion. The funds can be raised
with the help of various investors in the market. If the organisation gets enough investors
for expansion overseas then the organisation can enjoy benefits of business in other
countries also.
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2.2 Analyze ways in which existing performance could be maintained and strengthened
There are certain strengths of the organisation that has made it as successful as it is in
today’s time (Schaper, et al. 2014). These strengths if used in the right way can lead to further
growth of the organisation, the strengths of the business were identified in the previous task and
utilisation of the strengths so as to improve organisational performance is explained below:
 The casual dining approach of the organisation makes the atmosphere of the restaurants
by LEON very comfortable and relaxed. This automatically attracts the customers from
younger generations; the vibrancy in the atmosphere makes the restaurants of LEON
different from other restaurants. The organisation should focus on maintaining the
comfort and relaxation even if it goes for formal dining approach in the future.
 When the founders of the organisation came up with the School Food Plan and were
awarded for it the fame of the organisation multiplied and a lot more people got inclined
towards the restaurants. The organisation should focus on the increase in such CSR
activities so as to increase more awareness and popularity among the people of the
targeted areas.
 The organisation should focus on keeping up the variety of products being provided and
also focus on increasing the variety of products so as to maintain the interest of the
customers in the organisation (Blackburn, et al. 2013). The customers get inclined
towards increased number of variety in the products and therefore it is always beneficial
to invest in the provision of variety in products of the business.
 The number of outlets of the organisation is continuously increasing and this is
improving the approach of the organisation and opening more and more stores can lead to
more sale and expansion of the business. This will not only increase the approach of the
organisation but also the brand image of LEON Restaurants will be improved. The
organisation can also expand the business overseas in order to enhance the business.
2.3 Recommend with justification the new areas in which the business could be expanded
The business of LEON Restaurants can be improved in a lot of ways as there is more
scope for expansion of the organisation (Cook, and Wolverton, 2015). The recommendations to
expand the business are:
 International Expansion: The business of LEON Restaurants can be expanded in
countries other than UK as the organisation is now capable enough to go international.
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This is so as the organisation has now expanded a lot in the country and it can afford to
take the risk of going international and there are also possibilities of raising ample
amount of funds required for this purpose from the market.
 Increase in Variety of Products: The organisation can also expand the variety of
products being provided at the restaurants so as to attract more and more customers. The
organisation already provides a variety of food products, cook books and kitchen
accessories at its stores and the expansion in the variety of products will enhance the
diversity in its products. It will also help the organisation in expanding its market share
and gain a competitive advantage.
 Formal Dining: The organisation can invest in opening more stores within the country
that have a formal dining approach so as to cater to a different audience. The food
products served in these fine dining restaurants also have to be different than the cafe
products sold at the existing restaurants. The change in approach will help the
organisation in exploring a different sector within the food industry and reap benefits
from it (Chaston, 2014). The comfort factor has to be maintained even in the formal
ambience so as to justify the existing brand image of the organisation.
 Bars and Game Zones: The organisation can invest in the opening of Bars that have
gaming zones so as to serve the customers that are looking for chilling at gaming zones
with alcohol. These outlets will provide games such as Bowling, Pool, Video Games and
other indoor games and also serve alcoholic beverages and snacks. This will develop
another type of outlets of LEON that will help the young generation customers in getting
snacks, alcohol as well as entertainment.
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TASK 3
3.1 Analysis of current plans and objectives of business
LEON Restaurants function as per the global standards in the food industry and have the
products and services developed in international style. The organisation is planning to expand the
business all over the world so as to be known globally and come up as a global brand. The
organisation has shown efficiency in terms of solving problems that exist in both within and
outside the organisation. The organisation focuses on the perspectives of owners, employees as
well as customers so as to solve the problems that arise in the course of completion of business
operations (Goss, 2015). The organisation combines taste with health so as to maintain its
position in the market and even the brand message of LEON also focuses on healthy fast food.
The organisation is continuously working towards the betterment of its food products as well as
its services. The organisation will soon spread its branches overseas and be a global brand. The
service provision at the organisation focuses on polite behaviour with the customers as well as
serving of the product demanded by the customers on time.
Presently the focus of organisation is on expanding the business outside UK and raising
funds for it. If the organisation spreads the business overseas then it will have to go by the
international standards that are prevalent in the international scene of food industry and for that
extensive market research is required (Halabí, and Lussier, 2014). The organisation is also
constantly focusing on the increase in sales within the country so as to raise more and more
funds for international ventures. For the expansion of current activities of business the
organisation is not only improving the products and services but is also focusing on the
enhancement of marketing activities of the organisation. For the international expansion of the
organisation the authorities of LEON have to attract investors to raise the required amount of
funds. The required funds will facilitate the expansion of business on the international scale and
the enhancement of marketing strategy will attract the customers and investors towards the
business.
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