Thursday, June 11, 2009

Laura Secord faces off against Tim Hortons

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/story.html?id=1679027

Summary
Laura Secord is a well known chocolate brand in Canada. It has 129 different locations across Canada. In this article it talks about Laura Secord expanding its business by selling coffee as well. This topic is being evaluated because consumers have been asking for coffee to be sold at their multiple different locations. They have been evaluating whether or not they should sell coffee. According to the food service category 60-65 percent of instant consumptions are beverages. If coffee was sold at their locations they would try to connect chocolate and coffee together. However they are not sure about selling coffee because coffee has abundant of competitors while chocolate doesn’t and is always recession proof.

Connections
In chapter 10 it talks about microeconomics while involves the different type of businesses and competition. In this article Laura Secord is going to be against competition with Tim Hortons if they decide to start selling coffee. Laura Secord itself right now is already a well known brand, and even though there in premium space and it’s hard right now, they are everyday premium. If Laura Secord starts selling coffee and other beverages with chocolate in it, more people would go to Laura Secord instead. Laura Secord would have a bigger variety of not only beverages but food as well. Also with more competition the price would be lower and the quality of the goods would be better.

Personal Reflections
If Laura Secord does decide to join in and become competition I think it will succeed. With more of a variety of beverages and food it will attract more people. Also it would be a lot more convenient for people that want both coffee and food. As I mentioned earlier if the price is lowered people wouldn’t mind spending the money on a drink. It is also a bonus for the consumers because they are receiving better quality drinks for a lower price. Not only is money and quality of goods are positive factors, the fact that new products are introduced will attract more consumers. People are always attracted to new things and will want to try it out. If the goods are good, you wouldn’t even need to spend as much money on marketing the new product because word of mouth will spread rapidly. However there will always be those that dislike chocolate and are loyal Tim Hortons coffee drinkers that will not go, but this is only a small percentage.

1 comment:

Melissa Man said...

Mindy Mao,
Although I have never heard of Laura Secord brand chocolate, I think it would have a small impact on Tim Hortons' business. I may be wrong, but Laura Secord seems like it is located in the eastern provinces only, not BC. Tim Hortons on the other hand, is located in Canada and also in the States. It would be amazing if Tim Hortons' large sales is affected by Laura Secord's expansion because Tim Hortons is mostly featuring on their coffee, baked goods, and lunch while Laura Secord is chocolate (a gift). Both of their products are different because Tim Hortons is usually a breakfast/lunch sort-of-thing while Laura Secord is like a tea time product.

Melissa Man
Block E