NORTH SOUTH UNIVERSITY

Department of Management
Group Project
MGT 212: Organizational Management
Section:08

GROUP PROJECT REPORT ON

Submitted to:
Mr. Mohammad Hannan Miah
Senior Lecturer
Department of Management

Submitted by:
1.Humaira Anjum Orchi (2121926630)
2.Mahir Daiyan (2131715630)
3.Razeen Muhammad Rushd Islam (2131495030)
4.Md Mahidul Islam (2111251630)
5.Md Arifuddoza (2132545630)
TABLE OF CONTENTS

1) Introduction----------------------------------------------------- Page 03

2) Internal Environment Analysis------------------------------- Page 04

3) External Environment Analysis------------------------------ Page 05

4) SWOT Analysis for North End------------------------------- Page 13

5) Company's Business Analysis-------------------------------- Page 15

6) Distinctive Competencies-------------------------------------- Page 16

7) Financial Analysis----------------------------------------------- Page 17

8) Competitive Advantages--------------------------------------- Page 18

9) Recommendations----------------------------------------------- Page 20

10)Relating Recommendations with SWOT-------------------- Page 29

11)References------------------------------------------------------ Page 33

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 PART 1
Introduction

North End's journey began in 2011 in Bangladesh. Rick and Chris Hubbard came up with the

plan of opening a coffee business when they traveled to Chittagong in 2001 and planned

research on the market had been done by 2009. North End Coffee Roasters opened its first

location in Pragati Sarani, Shahjadpur, near the US embassy, in 2011. North End Rapidly

gained much popularity with eight branches as of now.

North End Coffee Roaster's Mission

North End set its foot in the Bangladeshi coffee industry with one goal, modernizing and

helping the industry to flourish. Founder and MD of North End, Rick Hubbard, stated that 'I

am not in the market as a competitor of the other coffee places, rather I want to help them if

they need help.' Like any other business, North End is driven by their motto 'One customer,

One Cup, One experience,' and they ensure that one cup will make the customers come back

for more. North End makes high-end fresh brewed coffee available to a broad customer base

by making it sufficiently affordable. Other than selling coffee in their café, they have

themselves involved in other aspects of the industry such as equipment supplying, training,

and consultation available for café businesses. To this day, they stand by their vision to

improve the coffee industry in Bangladesh as fluidly as possible.

North End's business culture makes its internal resources work best to flourish their

capabilities.

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 Internal Analysis

North End's Culture Regarding their Workforce

North End has a phenomenal workforce powering their business with an incredible culture

they have been following for years at this point. These implementations make them work the

most effectively and respect the profession while happily serving their customers.

● Employees in North End are treated with equality and respect.

● They have a reversed hierarchy where even the cleaning staff can sack a manager.

● Part-timers have the freedom of choosing their schedules. This makes taking a job

here appealing to students while making their life easier.

● The wage is hourly paid, making it easier for part-timers to work and get paid

accordingly.

● North End Welcomes untrained/inexperienced staff who are seeking a job. North End

goes on training them in their own Barista Academy.

North End's Culture Dedicated to their Customers

Moving onto their customer service, this part here makes customers every time for another

cup. North End has built a culture towards putting its customers first.

● North End tries its utmost to keep its customers at ease at all times. A kid mistakenly

spills coffee or breaks a cup? No problem, North End will never make a big deal out

of it.

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 ● Their motto 'One customer, One cup, One experience' proves that they thrive on

pleasing their customers with every opportunity they get. They are willing to replace

your cup of coffee with a fresh brew if you think it did not turn out well.

● A culture that is hard to come by nowadays, North End will never tell their customers

to leave no matter how small their orders are or how long they stay.

North End doubles as a coffee consultant and equipment provider, which means they also

tackle coffee businesses as their customers. They treat this business segment the same way

they treat other segments. They are always willing to chat with businesses to advise them

regarding the coffee industry.

EXTERNAL ANALYSIS

North End's Industry

North End categorizes itself as a coffee bean supplier. Their activities go beyond just being a

café. Their business model includes roasting coffee beans, selling coffee machines, business

consultancy, and coffee shop as an extra. So we can say that North End's market reaches

everything coffee-related.

The coffee market is a very niche market, and the target audience is quite limited compared

to other markets like food and beverages. As a result, this company has expanded its brand to

be more than just a coffee shop.

Another interesting fact about the coffee market is that it is very profitable. The value of

coffee is predetermined, and the company hikes the price relatively high than the cost. This

reason will be explained as to why it is acceptable.

Now, if we take a brief look at the market's different elements, we will see that they play into

the companies very differently than other competitors.

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 1. Suppliers:

Generally, for other businesses, suppliers are an external factor. Famous cafés such as Gloria

Jeans, Crimson Cup, and Coffee World rely on their suppliers for their profit. However,

North End is a coffee bean supplier with a coffee shop. So most of the process is done by

themselves. They have to import the beans from abroad and roast them before getting them

ready for brewing.

Despite this self-sufficiency, they keep an excellent relationship with the suppliers.

North End tries to keep suitable suppliers relations by clearing their dues as soon as possible.

Additionally, they try to encourage farmers to grow and yield coffee beans which help their

business and the economy.

2. Employees:

One of the most attractive sides of North End is its employees and employee management.

North End's most of the workers are teenagers and students. North End hires and trains a

young workforce and makes them skilled. Youthful enthusiasm helps the company put on the

brand image of caring about youth. The young workforce also has creative and brilliant

solutions to different problems. As the baristas and workers are teenagers, other teenagers

feel comfortable at the coffee shop.

This goes hand-in-hand with employee management. As discussed earlier, North End

treats its employees with respect like no other business institution.

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3. Customers & Consumers:

One of the most critical factors of any business is its consumers. They are the lifeblood of a

business, and North End does a great job attracting and satisfying its consumers. As discussed

before, one of North End's most significant assets is its simplicity and class. Rather than

making the outside look gorgeous, North End-uses makes its insides comfortable and suitable

for consumers. It is designed and maintained to be a haven for consumers.

Customers are also an essential part of North End's business model. Customers like

Westin and Radisson purchases coffee from North End, and they try to give

satisfactory service to all of their customers, including rival coffee shops. Their motto,

"one cup, one customer, one experience" shows how deeply they care about customer

satisfaction.

Competition for North End

The approach of North End to its competition is very different from any business model. As

North End is not just a coffee shop rather a coffee consultancy center, it acknowledges its

competition by helping them. Moreover, North End does things differently at its core than

any other coffee shop. We can see how North End does that in the Porter's Five Force

analysis below.

1. The threat of new entrants:

As said earlier, North End acknowledges its competition by helping them. Their

approach of viewing new competition to the market is not viewed as a threat but by

treating them with the help and support they need. Let us say there is a new coffee

shop next to North End. Instead of competing with other businesses, North End helps

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 them with coffee, machinery, training, consultancy, and classes for baristas. So

instead of trying to eliminate them from the market, they encourage them. Now, it

goes in the opposite direction from the traditional way of looking at competition, and

a question arises, how does that work? In their business model and vision, the answer

is that North End profits from selling machinery, roasted coffee, consultancy, et

cetera. Also, North End wants the coffee culture to grow in Bangladesh. As North

End is best in its market, North End's expansion will occur as coffee culture expands

in Bangladesh.

2. The threat of substitutes:

As a company, North End uses the principle of "Do not put all your eggs in one

basket" to its fullest. It is more than just a coffee shop and is hardly replaceable.

Primarily because of its impeccable service to all of the parties involved. Moreover,

even if its coffee shop fails, it still has a lot to offer in the coffee industry, such as new

machinery, roasted coffee grounds, consultancy, and barista classes.

3. Bargaining power of buyers:

The truth is that the customers do not have much bargain power in the coffee market.

According to the CCO of North End, they can make more profit openly. The cost of a

cup of coffee is sold at almost ten times its cost. As the price is fixed, consumers are

ready to pay its price. Now the question arises, why? North End café is a place for

relaxation and comfort. If a cup of coffee is sold at a minimum profit, it would be

affordable to many, creating a problem of maintaining a peaceful environment. A

consumer mainly pays for the service and experience he is getting. North End has to

balance this price to make it as affordable as possible. Otherwise, there will be no

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 consumers. That is why we can see that North End offers coffee at a low price than

other competitors like Gloria Jeans.

4. Bargaining power of suppliers:

In North End's case, the suppliers have some bargaining power. However, North End

has suppliers of various kinds. They can switch to other suppliers if they want to.

Aside from that, North End also supports local farmers to grow coffee beans which

might lead them to achieve complete self-sufficiency soon.

5. Current rivalry:

North End is positioned at the top of the coffee bean suppliers. However, it still has

some very hard competitors. Nescafe is still one of the largest coffee ground exporters

in Bangladesh. Nescafe is the name brand for household coffee. In contrast, North

End has a long way to go to reach that goal. In terms of cafés, there are also many

cafés whose names come up first before North End like Starbucks, Gloria Jeans et

cetera.

North End's PESTLE Analysis

Every business will have to face challenges to climb the stairs to success. One example would

be the macroeconomic forces that a business has to face, and North End has its share of

challenges to keep the business going.

Political

● North End has a friendly relationship with political leaders in the district and

they do not face difficulties while establishing a new outlet. The political environment is

pretty stable in Bangladesh

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 ● North End has to monitor the political situation of countries from which they

bring coffee beans into Bangladesh to ensure the smooth operation for their coffee bean and

equipment imports.

Economic Factor

● The global pandemic Covid-19 has resulted in a massive rise in

unemployment worldwide, and Bangladesh is no exception with unemployment that rose to

5.3% (2020) from 4.2% (2019). Since the pandemic, people are spending their money with

caution. Although North End's coffee might be affordable, it is still viewed as a luxury

product by Bangladesh's Citizens. This resulted in North End losing sales at the beginning of

2021. However, businesses in the economy started picking up as people got vaccinated. Café

businesses opened their doors to their long awaiting customers, and soon people started

meeting up with everyone else. The consumption of coffee in cafés slowly started rising, and

North End finally returned to its regular operations while maintaining strict safety protocols.

● Bangladesh enjoyed a 2.4% increase in its GDP in 2020, rapidly increasing as

days go by. The below graph demonstrates the increase compared to India and Pakistan. This

would translate to citizens having more disposable income, which would drive the sales of

coffee and other complementary products up. However, coffee is still viewed as a luxury

product, so everyone would not be buying it, although a higher percentage of the population

will be able to afford it.

● The coffee market has boomed in recent years, and many new cafés have

entered the market naturally, making the market more competitive for North End. However,

this plays to North End's Advantage. Since selling coffee beans to their partners and other

cafés makes up most of their revenue. This would mean other businesses doing well in the

market would benefit them.

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Sociocultural Factors

● Cafés are lovely in the eyes of Gen Z, while the Millennials and Gen X also

indulge themselves in them. These places have become a go-to place for them, and North End

is no exception. North End has tuned its ambiance to be well suited for both meeting

acquaintances while also keeping it ambient enough for business meetings. North End is doing

its best by focusing on striking a balance for their ambiance suited for almost all customers'

ages. They believe in making the coffee do all the talk rather than fancy décors in the interior.

● Furthermore, the youngsters of this country are very attracted to the western

culture of hanging out with their friends in a café, which influences the meet-up that usually

keeps North End busy.

● North End follows a strict rule of treating every person that walks through

their doors as their customers, and they are obliged to serve them regardless of any

discrimination. That would mean serving every class of society.

● As per World Bank, Bangladesh was classified as a lower-middle-income

country which goes on to prove people are more willing to pay a sum of 20 takas for a cup

of 'Tong' Tea with a cheap snack or a cigarette rather than spending 190 Taka on a cup of

coffee regularly. This proves to be one of the biggest challenges to North End in terms of

social-cultural factors.

Technological Factors

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Recent advancements in technology have opened up many opportunities that businesses can

make use of. North End has adapted and improved its business by implementing the latest tech.

● Electronic payments have made paying for a cup of coffee vastly quick.

Nowadays, you can tap your card on the POS and get the payment done, which saves time for

job holders or students in a rush early in the morning.

● Communication with customers has become more seamless due to the active

use of social media. Customers can swiftly contact North End regarding any information such

as the menu through their social page. In contrast, customers have a way to leave reviews,

recommendations, or suggestions for North End, which could help them out.

● The development of applications such as Foodpanda has made getting a cup of

coffee to one's home just one click away. This helps North End please customers who prefer

food coming to them rather than going out for it while delivery businesses do the heavy

lifting. They have also introduced contactless deliveries amid the pandemic.

Legal Factors

The government in Bangladesh has set legal regulations for the food and beverage industry,

which are to be maintained for a smooth and ethical business operation, and North End is

affected by these in several ways.

● North is just not a café; it provides several other services in the market. However, all these

services and products are subject to tax under the Bangladeshi rules. Starting from Vat on

coffee to paying taxes on imported equipment, North has been abiding by the tax laws

without a single hiccup. Below is a table of the rates that get charged on all their products.

● Bangladesh Food Safety Authority is commissioned under the Ministry of Food. They

often show up to restaurants or café to inspect if the business follows the safety guidelines.

They have to levy a hefty fine if they fail to meet the guidelines, such as using expired

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 ingredients or an unclean kitchen environment. However, North End has never failed an

inspection while delivering well above the standards set.

Environmental Factors

North End is well aware of the current Environmental issues the globe is

dealing with. North End has turned to keep their carbon footprint as minimal as possible to

battle climate change. They focus on using sustainable products while also keeping plastics to

a minimum by primarily using decomposable materials such as paper.

SWOT analysis on North End

Strength

1. North End's biggest strength lies in the variety in its business model.

They are primarily a coffee bean supplier. They also supply machinery, roasted coffee

grounds, coffee business consultancy, and classes for baristas.

2. Their next significant strength is their approach to consumers. North

End's coffee shop will never tell their customer to leave the café. They will change one's order

if it is mistaken or not to their liking, free of charge. Services like this attract people to come to

North End.

3. Their employee-manager relationship is a sight to behold. North End

takes employees very seriously. In the work culture of North End, no one gives out orders to

anyone; instead, they request. The culture of exchanging respect is rooted in everyone's core.

North End gives employment to young workforces, making their workforce full of life. The

employees make their schedule. This unique way of approaching employment makes them

unique.

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 Weakness

There are not many weaknesses in North End. It is like an impeccable castle which

is improving every day. However, some weakness remains, such as lack of advertisement.

North End is not into mass advertising. Their advertisement policy is that their fame will

go word-to-mouth. Consumers experience the services of North End and recommend them

to others. On the other hand, this makes everyone who visits North End exclusive.

Nevertheless, most people will not be associated with the North End name.

Opportunities

The coffee culture in Bangladesh is still growing. This market is one of the most

profitable markets than any other market. North End receives an enormous amount of

requests to open branches in various locations. This shows that their service and coffee are

in high demand. Lucky for North End, there is much room for coffee culture in

Bangladesh, and it is constantly growing significantly when the economy and lifestyle are

gradually improving in Bangladesh. Besides Bangladesh, North End is also trying to grow

in the international market, which is a challenge of its own.

Threats

One of the biggest threats of North End is giants in the coffee market. The

international market is swamped by coffee brand giants like Starbucks, Tim Horton's,

Dunkin Donuts, et cetera. These brands still do not have an outlet in Bangladesh.

However, it will be a huge threat for North End if they enter the market. The coffee market

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 is still very niche, and a very handful of people drink coffee from expensive cafés. These

coffee giants will certainly capture this audience, and North End will have to rethink its

strategy once that happens.

COMPANY'S BUSINESS ANALYSIS

to the different industries, the café and coffee beans supplying industry turns out with the most

investment. They have plenty of machines and equipment allocated to their coffee bean

supplying segment, whereas they have eight branches of café with beverage and food

equipment. The other segments, such as equipment supply and workforce training, use lower

resources.

Their core business is supplying coffee beans to cafes, hotels, restaurants, and

other interested buyers in Bangladesh. They import coffee beans from places like Brazil,

Africa, South America, et cetera. As per the Chief Commercial Officer, they have around

90% market share in the coffee bean market of Bangladesh.

Cafés come up second in which freshly brewed coffee is served and bakery

items like brownies and croissants.

On the third is their business consulting segment, where they provide advice to

coffee businesses along with training for equipment maintenance and barista skills; in fact,

they hold a two-day professional barista class to train the workforce in their academy. They

are also accessible for quality inspection and supervision.

According to BCG Matrix, a significant share of 90% in the coffee market

and everyday growing chances, the North End Coffee Roasters can be termed as a Star

business. The coffee culture is growing, they are patronizing the coffee cultivation to some

extent in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, so their market growth is assured. With an eye-catching

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 customer number ranging from 370-400 as businesses themselves, there remains no doubt

in their ownership of 90% market share in the current market. So, with high growth and

high market share, they remain a star business.

North End's Distinctive Competencies

to three major points-

1. Values and ethics

North End's attitude to all of its parties is one of the factors that has made

them number one in the coffee market. As mentioned earlier, North End creates a comfortable

environment for its customer. North End does not go after fanciness or high class. Instead, they

prioritize aspects that will benefit consumers. They will never ask their customer to leave, no

matter how long they spend there. They never try to win over a customer. If a consumer says that

they did not like the coffee even though the whole cup is finished, they will be more than happy to

give them another cup on the house.

2. Work Culture

Their work culture is an ideal model. Aside from their hiring policy

focusing heavily on the youth workforce, they take the value of every work very seriously. A

manager gives the same respect to a janitor as his higher-ups. Everyone is treated equally,

represented by everyone wearing the same shirt. In reality, we could not distinguish the CCO of

the place from the baristas. In addition, the employees make their schedule. This excellent work

culture makes them different than any other organization.

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 3. Lead to change

They are the leading charges in change. North End sits at the top of the coffee supply in

Bangladesh. They are constantly encouraging the coffee culture in Bangladesh. So instead of

making the profits than the competition and running the same race as others, North End wants

to succeed with everyone. This mindset is not common among most organizations, making

them the most successful.

FINANCIAL ANALYSIS
A business's financial aspects tell us a lot about the firm itself and its holding up inside.

Unfortunately, North End could not share specifical financial information with us due to

confidentiality issues. Nonetheless, they did give us some insights that could give us an idea

regarding the financial matters.

● Profitability

North End has opened up and stated that they make enough profits from

selling coffee because the industry is already shaped. North End sells one of the most

affordable coffee while competing with other businesses. Their cheapest offering at 190 takas

is very appealing; however, North End incurs around 20 ± 2 taka cost on making that coffee

with everything taken into account. That is an approximate 860% markup on their starting

cheap range product. This gives us enough details to assume they have significant

profitability.

● Solvency

North End has a great relationship with their supplier that has lasted for as long as

this business has flourished in Bangladesh. From this, we can deduce that North End has

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enough ability to pay its creditors off because otherwise, this incredible bond between the

supplier and buyer would not have formed.

● Stability

North End has been dominating the coffee industry for ten years and has

opened numerous outlets while perfectly managing them to this date. They have not come

against any severe problem that would potentially drive them out of the market, which shows

they can remain in the market for a long time.

North End's Competitive Advantage

of these up their sleeves.

1) Business Model

One of the most beneficial would be the way their business is modeled. North

End has already mentioned before that they are here to help and modernize the coffee

industry in Bangladesh. This led them to get involved with almost 90% of businesses that

serve coffee. North End supplies their fine coffee beans to more than 400 businesses, and

some of the popular mentions would be Westin Hotel, Radisson, and other famous cafés. This

is their most significant advantage as this would lead them to benefit if other businesses they

are involved with are performing well. It would translate to North End getting more orders

for coffee beans. This is one of the biggest reasons North End encourages their competition to

perform well.

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 2) Industry Training and consultancy

North End is the only business in Bangladesh that provides advice to new or

current coffee businesses and helps them perform better in their business. Any coffee

business interested in starting a new café or improving their already existing one, North End

welcomes them with open arms. As a strong company dedicated to coffee that has lasted for

ten years already, businesses are sure to learn something from them.

Moreover, North End is the only business that trains baristas to perform right

away. They hold a two-day professional training class to train workers with zero experience

to approach the market where most businesses nowadays demand experience in their field

of job.

Interviewing Mr. Rajoan Hasan, Chief Commercial Officer, North End Coffee Roasters

PART 2

In conversation with the Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of North End Coffee

Roasters, he informed us of a quote which is frequently said in the industry, which says a lot

about the business and that is, "Coffee is the common man's gold, and like gold, it brings to

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every person the feeling of luxury and nobility." The first part depicts that the coffee business

is as profitable as the mining business, and the second part explains why people agree and

contribute to it. The coffee business must be observed carefully to find out the details. During

our research and investigation levels, we came to find some surprising facts, issues,

problems, pros, and cons of it. As mentioned above, the direct interview helped us understand

the inner mechanisms, profitability maintenance, and sustainability.

Recommendations:

In our suggestion, we believe the company already possesses some competitive advantages

that are credited for the massive success and ownership of 90% of the total market share in

the coffee business. For the upcoming five years (2021-2026), the company already has its

doors open to improve profitability, sustain competitive advantages, and create competitive

advantages.

FOR IMPROVING PROFITABILITY:

❖ The present profit-making scheme for North End Coffee Roasters is an incentive for

anyone to enter the business. As per provided information by the CCO, we came to know

that any coffee, even if milk is added, adds to 50 takas to the order; in contrast, the

starting price for coffees, which is an Espresso, costs around 190 takas without any extra

charge. That means the least profit on one cup of coffee is around 120 taka, and every day

there are thousands of cups ordered in every outlet. This scheme keeps the company's

profits satisfied and meets the goals. The addition of some quick deals offers or sales

promotions can expand its reach.

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❖ Word of mouth promotion is the marketing medium for the company, which means

they are more of a service-oriented company. Its effectiveness is undoubtedly high as they

possess almost 350-400 customers only for their coffee beans. A bit of addition to these

promotions, for supposing, barista training, coffee machine usage, beans roasting, et

cetera, are done in a broader range. A more significant part of the grooming population

would be more interested in the sector.

❖ When any company or organization is doing great or better than others, a bit of

responsibility falls onto them for the overall improvement or growth of the sector.

Corporate Social Responsibility is one of the important attractiveness of North End

Coffee Roasters. For making the coffee more accessible, they often tend to patronize the

farmers in the Chittagong Hill Tracts to increase the cultivation and production of coffee

beans. Such things contribute to their business and contribute to the growth of the

national economy. If the farmers start cultivating coffee beans commercially, it would

greatly help anyone associated with the industry who needs to pay for all the duties and

taxes imposed on the imported coffee beans. When the cost for local businesses reduces,

the country will automatically be benefited from a surplus in the national economic

indicators, which eventually will reduce the cost for the company itself, bringing it more

recognition and market share. Thus, the company will be benefitted.

❖ Collaborating with online platforms and delivery systems is just the demand of time.

Technology owns the era, and anything without it gets back in the race, which is not

acceptable for any business that aspires to be a star. Also, during the pandemic situation,

the whole world was house-ridden and wanted a touch of their comfort foods sitting at

home. Altogether these inspired the collaboration of North End Coffee Roasters with

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 Food panda, Pathao, Evaly, Shohoz food, et cetera. The most ordered items online were

the brownies and other complementary food items they offer with their signature item-

coffee. This could perhaps be explained by the fact that avid coffee drinkers do not like

ordering in the coffee cause, by then, it gets cold. So the loyal customers started with the

brownies. Moreover, the food delivery apps mainly offer lucrative offers and promo

codes to discount various products, boosting sales. Market expansion can be done as the

number of customers who cannot figure out some time to go and visit the store could also

enjoy the quality products offered by them staying at home or workplaces according to

their convenience.

❖ The power of supplying, producing, and selling complementary products with the main

product is undeniable for any product to sustain longer and more effectively staying in

demand in any market, which North End Coffee Roasters have done with perfection.

They have always tried to work with complements for empowering and boosting their

position in the market and overall in the industry. For example, if we look into the menu

or list of food items they offer, we can see that along with coffee, whatever comfort food

or snacks anyone would prefer is present in their menu. Cinnamon rolls, chili cheese

croissants, pumpkin muffins, bagels with cream cheese, bagel sesame with cream, chili

milli, brownie mocha, brownie delight, roast beef sandwich, et cetera are the most

popular items they serve. If you visit the place, you can see at least one of these on each

table, which means the company is utilizing the power of producing complimentary items

and gaining success. If the popularly demanded or asked for items are being introduced

now and then as the present condition, there is no doubt that North End Coffee Roasters

will continue with its profitability with a chance of rising.

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FOR SUSTAINING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE:

⮚ A company focused on service-oriented behavior towards customers. So when we

say this, many questions may arise, which will be cleared with one experience in

North End Coffee Roasters.

In our country condition, no other places or companies offer such behavior or

hospitability. For example, there is no hassle when someone gets a wrong order

placed. The barista immediately changes the order for the customer or sometimes may

add a product without any charge. People often order some black coffees without

understanding as it is a growing culture in the country. When the facial expressions or

gestures of the customer look unpleasant, they automatically replace the order with

something according to the customer's taste free of charge.

Another thing to be mentioned in this regard is that the behavior of everyone around

is soothing. There is no rudeness or intolerance inside the shop. This service-oriented

behavior is exclusive and attractive to every customer in the market.

⮚ Recruitment processes and priorities for this company are already worthy of all its

attention. Suppose a regular advertisement for recruitment, some essential

requirements they give away is experience, skills, working compatibility, et cetera.

However, for North End coffee roasters, we came across a fantastic scheme that they

believe in.

⮚ Mr. Rajoan, the Chief Commercial Officer, informed us of the scheme that is a person

in their mud stage is more to be appointed over someone already built-in some mold.

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 This means they prefer things their way, which proves an excellent opportunity for

anyone struggling with their first career or a student having issues with lack of

experience in the resume. This introduction or priority of freshers or students in the

job market is already a competitive advantage that, if maintained, will be a part of

them, bringing more popularity and preferences above all.

⮚ They are not a coffee shop that sells coffee beans and machinery; instead, they are a

coffee bean and machinery seller who have a little coffee shop. They captured

almost 90% of the market share in the coffee market, have almost 350-400 customers

who are also businesses; such structure is a new introduction in the market of this

country. Suppose more coffee shops do not necessarily threaten their competencies in

the market. In that case, they add to their revenue by buying coffee beans, taking

some machinery from their stock, or having their workforce get trained or guided by

them for their betterment as they come with the product for business and every step of

service coming along with it. This competitive advantage in their business model is a

blessing, and if proper continuity can be maintained, there is always room for success

for their business and profit.

⮚ First movers in the market have some advantages by default. As the company

looks upon their Research and Development department above any other department

constituting their company, they also have the opportunity to grow with innovation,

get through innovation, introduce things to the market, construct a culture, promote

their innovation, et cetera. At the beginning stage, any product is unique and catches a

lot of attention according to its utility. As the industry is of beverages, and caffeine is

always a relief object to people, there is a lesser risk of downfall or loss if proper

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 research is done before launch, which North End Coffee Roasters have been doing to

this date. Such a competitive advantage can continue to its fortune with its current

priorities and enforcing good and beneficial research as done earlier.

⮚ It ensures comfort and promises good leisure there. The environment is friendly to

meetings as well as some gatherings or for relaxing. There is no limit for minimum

order or maximum time to be inside. Anyone can ever walk in at 7 am and stay as

long as their heart pleases; there is no restriction or boundary to their stay. Everyone

inside cooperates with all their heart to maintain the excellent environment and

persisting ambiance of the place. From every person who went inside the place once,

has never returned without absolute satisfaction, that is the success of North End

Coffee Roasters, they ensure good ambiance and service irrespective of person,

employee or customer, people from management or even anyone just visiting for

sitting there for some work. It is a phenomenon that's much needed and asked for,

but not met up by companies as the focus stays on profit-maximizing mostly, which

doesn't allow them to let everyone in and stay more than required. However, for a

multifarious business, like North End Coffee Roasters, it just shows how long-term

strategic planning helps in gaining a superior advantage in every aspect, if not such

services gain immediate profit, it contributes to their further marketing, promotions,

increases in sales, employment interest, business partners increase, et cetera.

⮚ North End Coffee Roasters is also competent in advising or consulting others to put

up with their initiatives in the same industry, which shows their expertise in

corporate consultancy and support to startups. There are multiple café businesses

around the country where they have just visited the company managing body, stated

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 their motive, determined their budget, and the rest was figured out by the North End

Coffee Roasters. Besides conducting business in the same industry, this unique part of

doing consultancy is a competitive advantage in this country. A more prominent

example can be set by talking of Arabika, a well-known coffee shop in Dhaka that

operates closely with North End Coffee Roasters as their suppliers. Some other coffee

shops set locally or even gaining popularity have begun their initiative with the help

of them and their team's way of conducting and setting the business. As Mr. Rajon

said, "we do not wish there are 20 more branches of North End Coffee Roasters, we

wish there are 20 more cafes in our area to increase our sales in our prime business

concern as coffee bean and machinery supplier, but if popularity goes with North End,

we do not mind increasing our business as café too." Such a feature where a company

runs a business in an industry helps other setups into the industry, increasing their

sales, and helping other cafes function through their consultancy support is an

incredible addition to the industry in the country itself. Their consultancy function is

also free of cost for anyone seeking help, contributing to the people with employment

or lower capital issues. They provide the essential planning and execution step

guidelines for any café or company willing to operate in the same field with much

sincerity.

FOR CREATING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE:

❖ At this point, the top-notch scope to be turned into a competitive advantage for North End

Coffee Roasters is, executing their plan on turning into a franchise that begins in

Bangladesh, which can be considered as a differentiation focus strategy of attaining

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 competitive advantage in the narrow market considering other more prominent

companies conducting international business schemes already. During the interview, we

asked the CCO of the company about where he sees the company in the next five years,

and he expressed their concern about turning into an active franchise any time soon,

which in our eyes too is a significant emerging point for their branding. The brand image

for the company in our minds is already good to go for an international field. Also, their

product quality goes hand in hand with their branding schemes. If introduced in an

international field, it can have greater chances to become as successful as fast-food chains

like KFC, McDonald's, Burger King, et cetera. They look up to Starbucks as an upcoming

competitor to operate in the international fields. If planning. Organizing, leading, and

communicating is done correctly; there is no doubt saying their market can grow bigger in

no time and operate better than anything else. This would be a milestone for the national

market and a good move for any persisting company.

❖ Implementing CRM on a differentiation scope of attaining competitive advantage in

the broad market can significantly increase market share and gain a further competitive

advantage of North End Coffee Roasters. Customer Relationship Management has

already improved the experience for multiple sectors in various industries worldwide. In

addition to this to the already rigid structure of the company, the following services might

also be provided:

I. Providing loyalty or membership cards with RFID 

II. Each time a customer buys something, they tap their RFID loyalty card, which will

add points to their respective accounts.

III. Each point is equivalent to a certain amount of cash coupons or discounts.

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 IV. At some point, customers with high points can get rewards like free products or

waived delivery charges for online customers.

V. On the other hand, North End could build a vast customer profile based on this data:

what a specific customer orders, how much sugar they like, at what time they come,

what do they like to have with their coffee et cetera. for their convenience and

research and development according to current market condition and

preferences.

VI. Soon enough, North End can start providing precisely what the customers want. They

will be able to predict what the customers might want using data mining technology

and extensive data maintenance with the help of sensitive software.

VII. These customers are likely to never even think of another cafe since North End Coffee

Roasters would provide them with exactly what they want, when they want, and

keep up with their changing tastes and preferences in the particular sector of coffee

and complementary items.

VIII. Plus, additions and deletions to the menu can be made through this technology.

Anyone would be notified of the updates at any time, which can help new customers

figure out what their go-to comfort product would be during their stay.

IX. Moreover, they could use CRM software to track at what room temperature

customers feel the most comfortable, what playlists the majority of the customers

like- doing so would build better intimacy with the customers. After all, comfort and

coziness are something everyone enjoys and expects the most from any place they

visit.

Above, we have presented all our recommendations for the company to increase their

profitability, sustain their competitive advantage, and add new competitive

advantages for the upcoming five years, 2021-2026. Below is the explanation of why

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 and how these recommendations take advantage of the strengths and opportunities,

address and improve the weaknesses, mitigate the threats, all in the context of the

macro environment.

⮚ Relationship of the recommendations with the strengths:

▪ Proper utilization of their unique model will be ensured, and more profit will

be added to the company value through following the above

recommendations.

▪ Their approach to the customers is also a value-adding feature of their

company. The improvement and additions, as recommended above, will attract

even more customers and invite more public attention, contributing to a boost

in their total revenue.

▪ As said by the CCO, the reverse hierarchy triangle followed by them is

another essential part of their company culture and a lucrative approach for

anyone looking for employment. The respect, priority, and equity observed in

the company are exemplary. Suppose the suggestions are taken into

consideration and followed accordingly. In that case, such rare attributes will

catch the market's mind and become the most potent weapon for the company

to persist effectively and keep making the differences.

▪ Emphasis on the research and development part is already in favor of the

company to go ahead of anyone else in the market, with proper

implementation of the recommendations that direct the company more towards

IT usage, which is the demand of the time, will keep it going in this significant

momentum to a more extensive period than usual.

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⮚ Relationship of the recommendations with the opportunities:

◊ As coffee culture is currently growing in the country, and North End Coffee

Roasters is the torchbearer in the field, there is already a bigger chance for the

company to move with contemporaries, guide them according to the

recommended process, be their top priority suppliers, and increase their

business impact eventually.

◊ The demand keeps rising in different areas; as we know, from Gulshan to

Banani, there are already four outlets just according to the public demand

surrounding the coffee sales and a good leisure spot. Currently, they are

informed of a massive demand in the Uttara area and considering opening an

outlet there. Similarly, according to the public demand, they can keep going

with the opportunities of expanding their business as coffee sellers or café as

recommended above in multiple states.

◊ Considering the launch of a franchise in Bangladesh is also a big shot to hit

from North End Coffee Roaster's part in the coffee industry. This opportunity

can be utilized perfectly according to the recommendations and be in the

priorities of the bigger market in the country.

⮚ Mitigating the threats through the recommendations:

⇒ One threat that persists in the coffee market in the macro-environment for

North End Coffee Roasters is the presence of giants like Starbucks, Tim

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 Horton's, et cetera. Their launch can cause the company a more significant

existential crisis than ever. However, if they constantly follow the

recommendations to update and upgrade their service and products, there is

hardly a way for such companies to get away with North End quickly.

⇒ Their constant focus on Niche marketing can be a threat to themselves at times

because a product that's more of luxury can also be the product that gets

substituted easily. Therefore, with the execution of the recommendations

above, its possible for them to keep up with the market expansion through

various methods, which will increase popularity, demand and help the

company sustain its brand value.

⮚ Overcoming the weaknesses through the recommendations:

o For North End Coffee Roaster, the threats are minor but never negligible. So,

our observed weakness is their marketing policy which is word-of-mouth

marketing. This works mainly positively, but sometimes it may not be as

recognizable as a moderately advertising one. For public recognition or sales

increase, any company must go with a bit creative but a bit conventional

advertising method as suggested above. If the advertising method is known,

but the type is creative, it might attract a lot more customers to this end.

Therefore, our recommendations and justifications are made accordingly in the realistic

condition and market situations. If implemented correctly, this might add to the

company's value and keep the business growing as a star continuing with the massive

share of 90% or even more with time.

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REFERENCES:
1.http://www.northendcoffee.com/

2.https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/dhaka/2019/11/05/north-end-

coffee-roasters-says-it-never-used-expired-milk

3https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/

1vjvhx4vmxUmHtV0Z1odmkzhomVfMnWp8

4.https://hellodhaka.com.bd/listing-item/north-end-coffee-roasters/

5.https://hellodhaka.com.bd/listing-item/north-end-coffee-roasters/

6. (Hasan, 2021)

7. Visiting card:

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