INTRODUCTION

Potato Corner, dubbed as the World’s Best Flavored Fries, has been a leading
brand in the food industry for 25 years. On October 1992, Potato Corner opened its first
outlet in the Philippines and began franchising the year after. Today, it has grown from
small carts into in-line stores found in almost every corner of the world – in malls, schools,
hospitals, bus stations, amusement parks, and even tourist destinations in multiple
countries. Through its 25-year tenure, Potato Corner has garnered numerous awards
from several award-giving bodies— all stemming from the tedious and never-ending hard
work of the people who work behind the scenes to make all the success possible. From
a little kiosk in SM Megamall, Potato Corner has grown tremendously and is now a staple
name in the industry. There are branches all over the world— Singapore, Indonesia,
America, and so on. It is owned and operated by Cinco Corporation,

S.W.O.T ANALYSIS

STRENGTHS

Notwithstanding the fact that Potato Corner is an established name and empire,
franchising any Potato Corner package comes with its strengths. According to the Jose
Magsaysay, the current CEO of Potato Corner, the greatest strength of the company is
its history with its market. When they first opened in 1992, the young boys and girls who
patronized their products became the very people who franchised the business in the
years that came after. Nothing beats history, he says, as Potato Corner grew from a small
kiosk in Megamall to reaching the world through the franchising of the boys and girls who
were once fans of the business. This also comes with another strength— the age of
people who choose to franchise the business. Because the franchisees are past
consumers of the franchise, they know how to change and better market the products.
They can take from their experience before and apply it to further the success of the entity.
This allows Potato Corner to generate more revenue as well as attract more investors
and franchisees. This leads to another strength— customer loyalty. This encourages
more sales by having loyal consumers that patronize and choose Potato Corner products
even amidst the growing French Fries industry.

Next strength comes from the fact that the product sold by the company is a staple
favorite of many across the globe. French Fries is a food staple that majority of people in
this world love, and this adds to the ability of the franchise to make profit. Stalls of Potato
Corner are situated in high-traffic areas like malls, airports, schools, and etc; and its quick
to prepare nature makes it easy for on-the-go customers who just need a bite to eat.
Because of Potato Corner’s established name, there is also little risk of loss in any kiosk,
as there is almost always a guarantee that the market with flock the product because of
its held prestige in the eyes of the market it serves.
WEAKNESSES

One of the major weaknesses in the Potato Corner franchise is the price of the
products. As a consumer myself, I can see that the price point of the products can prove
to be a turn-off to many. Not many can afford 200-peso fries at any time. This can cause
opportunity costs for the business, as it loses potential customers because of the steep
price point. Potato Corner also only sells French Fries— only with differing flavors. This
lack of product variations can run the risk of consumers getting tired of the products they
offer. Next weakness is because of the popularity of the brand, the small kiosks in malls
are sometimes too small to cater the mass of people who want to purchase. These long
lines of people turn off people who may want to buy but have no luxury or patience of
waiting— this majorly happens whenever the specified mall has special offerings or it is
the yuletide season. These small kiosks added with small number of crews per kiosk lead
to loss of sales that can be avoided with proper steps to be undertaken.

OPPORTUNITIES

One of the ways Potato Corner can grow its footprint in the industry it is in, is to
innovate. Potato Corner must learn to offer more products— like frittatas, potato disks,
etc. Yes, Potato Corner thrived on French fries for many years, but even established
brands need to innovate, to remove the threat of obsolescence. Potato Corner can also
establish itself online, which I’ve seen the company do in the past year. Last year, they
held a competition for online fans where the winners were to receive unlimited stocks of
Potato Corner fries by promoting and marketing the products the best way they can. That
little gimmick earned thousands of entries, meaning thousands of people worked to
market the products of the fries that we all know and love, which further grew the
company’s online presence. By being seen on social media, it opens the portals to more
opportunities, may it be local or global. Potato Corner has also been devising plans to
open stores in Spain, Kuwait, and Australia, and this is a great opportunity to introduce
the company and the products to markets outside of the Philippines. Though PC has
penetrated many other countries already, it won’t hurt the company to continue to branch
out to places that have not been introduced to its delicious fries. Many kiosks in Manila
and Cebu have also penetrated the online purchasing world, by contracting food delivery
giants like GrabFood, FoodPanda, and others to allow consumers to still purchase from
the store even without leaving their homes. This adds more revenue and allows the
company to be reachable to even people who just need food but can’t leave their
respective locations at a time.

THREATS

One of the threats that sets Potato Corner apart from its competitors would be the
limited dining experience. Because majority of Potato Corner stores are kiosks, there are
no dining in arrangements. Kiosks don’t have seats and tables where customers can sit
and eat their purchases. This is another of its weakness, as many stores are popping up
that do not only offer fries and other products, they also offer a comfortable place to relax
after purchases are made. The growing industry of French fries is also a major threat to
the company, as it waters the market that used to be dominated by Potato Corner. Even
though these stores are small and not yet established, they still attract customers that c
could have purchased from Potato Corner but purchased from them. Their mere
existence means that many are eyeing the French fries scene as a fruitful investment.
The fast food giants that offer their own French fries is also a big threat to Potato Corner,
as Jollibee, Mcdo, Burger King, etc all offer cheaper fries than the fries sold in Potato
Corner. They all also offer a varied amount of products and offer dining options to the
consumers, which majority of Potato Corner stores cannot.

ADVANTAGES

Why choose Potato Corner? Potato Corner has been dubbed as the World’s Best
Flavored Fries – a unique concept that has easily become a personal favorite by new and
existing consumers alike, spanning different countries across the globe. The product
menu offered by stores are also flexible to accommodate complementary great-tasting
products to cater to the local market. Potato Corner likes to keep it simple. Another
advantage of franchising Potato Corner is that its stores are easy to set up and operate.
Training by the Franchise Support Team gives their franchisees the confidence to
successfully open a number of stores in a short period of time. There is apt support given
to franchisees so that their investments will grow and the franchise will continue to
succeed. Over the past 25 years, Potato Corner has grown into an iconic brand and is
the top-of-mind choice of flavored fries in the hearts and minds of its consumers. Potato
Corner offers a delightful customer experience with its unique flavor and premium-quality
fries. This brand image that Potato Corner has worked hard for, is already ingrained in
the minds of many consumers, both here and abroad. This makes Potato Corner a staple
favorite, which is very much useful when putting up another PC franchise. The brand is
known and loved, and it won’t be hard to find customers that would purchase from the
store.

DISADVANTAGES

Potato Corner is a franchise that has remained the same over the years. It has not
been as aggressive in its charge for innovation as its other competitors. It remains
stagnant at the top and it is a fear that it might not be like that much longer. Because the
times are changing, the customers are changing as well. We are all yearning for change,
for innovation, and any store that cannot cater to this yearning will surely get left behind
in the years to come. Today’s consumer has higher expectations and restaurants have
had to adapt to their new tastes and needs or they are being left behind. Not to mention,
there are innovative brands are elevating the industry by serving superior food product,
while also connecting with the guests on a community level. These concepts are
increasing in foot traffic, while several of the long-standing chains are losing customers.
Many franchises have gone out of business from being one of the top dogs in their
respective industries. Howard Johnson’s, a mega food chain in the United States, once
operated 870 locations at its peak, but now, only one remains. This failure is attributed to
the fact that the chain’s menu wasn’t remarkable and didn’t differentiate itself, so it could
not compete with other diner-like chains. This is one possible event that could happen to
Potato Corner if it does not fight tooth and nail to innovate and change along with the
taste and expectations of the consumers.

ADVANTAGES OVER DISADVANTAGES

At the end of the day, what we must talk about is the now. The fact still remains
that even without aggressive innovation, Potato Corner is still the leading in the industry.
She is stealthily becoming a food giant in the Philippines and even abroad. The loyalty of
the consumers she serves is the biggest testament to her ability to continue to thrive in
the market. And when her managers realize the need for aggressive innovation and
begins to implement measures to make sure that Potato Corner is differentiated from all
other companies that offer similar products, Potato Corner will cement its place in the
food chain, both here and abroad. Companies are different from each other, and what
happened to Howard Johnson’s might not happen to Potato Corner, but it is imperative
that Management starts to work now to ensure and decrease the likelihood of failure.
Because nothing is guaranteed in the business world. The top is always getting higher
and it is the call of each and every business to strive to reach the top, even as it goes
higher.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, Potato Corner is a very high-return investment for any person who
has the means and abilities to franchise it. Its advantages far outweigh its disadvantages.
It is a company that is built on the loyalty of the customers it serves, and this is very hard
to gain for many food giants. This is what sets Potato Corner apart from its competitors.
And when the managers realize the importance of innovation and keeping up with times,
and they do this as well as the other giant competitors, Potato Corner will be a force to
be wrecking with. She will attract more franchisees and will remain at the top, where she
belongs.
 POTATO CORNER PAPER

(SWOT, ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES)

In partial fulfillment of the requirement for the subject

Accounting Review,

By
Pacana, Patricia Deanne M.

Submitted to
Ma’am Carmencita de Mesa

Submitted on

August 2, 2019