LARDO Restaurant: Business Analysis, STEEPLE, SWOT & Recommendations

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of LARDO restaurant, a small-scale Italian cuisine establishment in London, focusing on its background, industry overview, market efforts, and profit history since its inception in 2012. It includes a STEEPLE analysis, examining the social, technological, economic, environmental, political, legal, and ethical factors impacting the business. A benchmark analysis compares LARDO with high-performing (Kean's Head) and underperforming (Stella's Kitchen) competitors, outlining strategies for improvement. The report also presents a 7S framework analysis, covering strategy, structure, systems, skills, staff, style, and shared values, along with a SWOT analysis identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The report concludes with recommendations for enhancing management systems, employee training, and product innovation to gain a competitive advantage, emphasizing the restaurant's strong foundation and customer base.

TASK 1

Introduction
•LARDO restaurant is a small scale enterprise and it is located in the London.
This restaurant serves Italian food to the customers in and around London.

Background
•LARDO was opened in July 2012 at Richmond Road, London and introduced
itself as Italian cuisine restaurants. This place is generally famous for the
sandwiches but also its serves pizza, sandwiches, drinks, etc. This restaurant is
best known for the warmest welcome in London. This restaurant is build on a
retro theme and serves the quality food and has a strategy of keeping
skimming prices. Lardo opened its another subsidiary COPPA which is a bar in
2014. further, it also opened LARDO bebe which is mainly a take away
restaurant. It also plans to open LONZO in this coming year.

Industry Overview
•LARDO is a restaurant and it falls under the hospitality industry and in this
industry there are many other areas such as tourism, hotels, event, resort,
etc. Hospitality in general term means kindness in welcoming guests and
strangers. In present scenario, hospitality industry I the most flourishing
industry due to changing demographics and changing lifestyle of people. This
industry covers all the aspects that is operations, profit history and current
market efforts.

The Need LARDO Serves
•Even though serving the many segments of the London, it also satisfies the
needs of many customers that includes;
Employment opportunities for young and energetic professionals
Take away and delivery services to the college going youth.
Roof top facilities to the customers.
Birthday parties and other festive occasion facilities such as Christmas
dining.

Profit History
•This firm was established in 2012 and the profit history since then is
presented as follows:
In 2012 the firms faces the loss of ￡ 11,335 due to the expenses it incurred
on tangible assets and other preliminary expenses.
In 2013, the restaurant had a profit of ￡ 39,515 which shows that profit is
increasing due to increase in sales.
However, in 2014, firms had a great profit of ￡ 50,391.
Company's debtor are also increasing since 2012 which is a indicator that
sales turnover of LARDO is worth noticing.
Moreover, shareholder's fund of the enterprise was under loss in 2012 but
gradually with the increase in profit margin the shareholders' fund also
increased form ￡ (-11,235) to ￡ 50,491.

Current Market Efforts
 The promotion of LARDO is done through online advertising on its
website. The current advertising is done for the Christmas. Also it promote
about its product by selling LONZO bread at Druid St Market. Moreover
the promotion is done through media advertising and hoardings.
 It is currently planning to open its new venture that is LONZO in a coming
year in order to expand its business.
 In addition to this, it has planned to provide Christmas do for the group of
8 or more at LARDO bebe.
 Along with that, it is keen to provide employment opportunities to the
young and energetic professionals.

STEEPLE Analysis
•This analysis is basically refers to as a one of the concept which are used to
analyze the macro-environmental elements affecting the business activities.
The analysis is conducted as follows:
•Social: The demographics is changing and people of UK prefers to have multi
cuisines. For this purpose, LARDO has established its business so as to satisfy
the needs of customers. Moreover, firm should take care that beliefs and
culture of society does not get undermine.
•Technological: In order to get success in the industry and reach to the higher
level, a restaurant should cope up with the technological advancement.
However, to install new equipments high cost need to be incurred which is
not in the budget of SMEs. Thus it limit the growth of this sector.
•Economic: Small business enterprise are the basic elements which contribute
in the growth of economy. Thus LARDO restaurant leads to the GDP growth.
However, these enterprises are one which is highly affected due to increasing
inflation rate, recession and other economic crisis.

Cont...
•Environmental: Restaurants like LARDO has to take extra care about the
protection of environment. As these enterprise come under more focus if they
are destroying the environment. Thus, LARDO should initiate for the
protection of environment.
•Political: Change in government and its policy has a greater impact on small
businesses as they do not have that much power to oppose the changes and
employing new policies involve huge cost.
•Legal: There are many laws related to hotels and restaurants such as food
allergic laws, EU laws, etc. which a restaurant has to keep in mind while
making food so that it does not harm the customers. Moreover, employment
law and competition law also to followed by the LARDO restaurant.
•Ethics: The values and ethics should not be undermined by the restaurant
such as serving what is mentioned in the menu book. Non-discriminatory
practices should be adopted and fair game should be played in the industry.

Benchmark Analysis
•In order to do the competitive benchmarking two competitors need to be
analyzed. One is the high performing that is Kean's Head and other is under-
performing that is Stella's Kitchen. There are various steps involved in this
analysis which are discussed as follows:
•Planning: To provide assistance to all types of customers that is to make a
smoking zone within 3 weeks for the smokers so that non-smokers does not
get distracted by taking this view form Kean's Head. Than providing
employment to the freshers of hotel management till December 2016 as
Stella's kitchen is doing the same. Firm will require financial and physical
resources to carry out this function. Moreover, it is to be seen that
discrimination is not done.
•Analysis: Company should compare its existing performance and customer
review with that of the strategy of Kean's Head and Stella's Kitchen in order to
bring changes in the strategy being designed.

Cont..
•Action: Implementation of plans should be done and these should be shared
and communicated with the stakeholders of the enterprise. If they suggest
any changes than improvement plan should be developed and accordingly
changes should be made.
•Review: After the implementation of changes, management should review
and monitor the effects of changes. If there is any variations in accordance
with the set benchmark than the control measures should be applied so that
actual output meets with the set standards.

7 S of LARDO Restaurant
7 S Result
Strategy Skimming pricing, customer satisfaction by
providing high quality food.
Structure Firm has flat structure.
Systems Customer support, effective human resource
management system, order processing and
control mechanism.
Skills Innovative skills, high competent personnel.
Staff Less employees with high energy and
enthusiasm. They except high salary and good
incentives.
Style Democratic management style
Shared values Excellence and enthusiasm

SWOT Analysis
Strengths Weaknesses
 Firm has highly skilled, enthusiastic
and energetic employees.
 It has generated good profits in
three years.
 Company has opened 3 ventures
and has expanded, thus it has good
financial resources.
 Firm is highly innovative.
 It satisfied it customers at its best.
 Firm has set excellent benchmark
and work accordingly.
 Company is planning to open one
more venture which shows that
company is developing in its sector.
 It is not able to motivate its employees
at best possible manner.
 The prices of the food are quite high.
 Firm has flat structure which make it
difficult for the owner to handle and
also employee's issues does not get
resolve.
 Human resources are short due which
customers does not get serve in a
proper manner. The serving takes
longer time.
 Company is unable to employ latest
technological equipments.

Cont..
Opportunities Threats
 Company has an opportunity
to establish its branch outside
the college campus so as to
attract the young customers.
 It can reach up to middle
scale industry if it establish
some more restaurants.
 Franchise of the restaurants
can also be provided.
 The economic factor, political
factor and the social factor
put a high threat over the
LARDO.
 Less motivating employees
may leads to reduction of
brand image and innovative
skills.
 Competitors who are under-
performer can reach above
LARDO if customers would
get switch.

Recommendations
 Company should bring improvement in their management system so that
employees can be made more motivating.
 Firm should focus upon the training and development of the employees so
that effectiveness can be maintained.
 Bring innovative products in order to gain competitive advantage.

Conclusion
•As per the whole situation analysis it can be concluded that it has good
strengths and opportunities. If it work upon these two than weaknesses
and threats can be overcome in a lesser period of time. The quality o
food has been maintained and customer base of the firm is remarkable.

References
•Gill, A. and Biger, N., 2012. Barriers to small business growth in Canada.
Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development. 19(4). pp.656–668.
•Inter Credit Report. 2015. [Online]. Avaialble through <
http://intercreditreport.co.uk/company/lardo-ltd-07686607>. [Accessed on
22 December 2015].
•SWOT Template & SWOT Analysis Example for a Non-Governmental
Organization (NGO). 2015. [Online]. Avaialble through
<http://mbareaders.com/swot-template-swot-analysis-example-for-a-non-
governmental-organization-ngo/>. [Accessed on 22 December 2015].

Thank You