• The BanTen Industrial Company: Maintaining Brand Equity or Opening More Chain Stores?

Abstract

The operational headquarters of the BanTen Industrial Company is the Wan-Jia-Xiang breakfast chain store. Liang-Tian Lin, the General Manager of the BanTen Industrial Company, attaches great importance to food safety and spares no efforts on material selection, research and development of ingredients and products, storage, and transportation, etc. In 2005, the company offered a low investment threshold with zero franchise fees combined with a unified supply from the company’s headquarters to attract interested young people to join the company. By 2007, the number of franchised outlets was nearly 500.

In 2010, against fierce competition in the market, some franchised stores, in order to maximize their own interests, hoped that the company headquarters would release partial procurement authority and agree that the franchised stores could sell their own home-made food so as to pursue optimized personal revenues. This situation completely violated the franchise agreement and the brand development strategy. However, if rejected, a wave of franchised stores would quit and food safety issues would damage the brand. General Manager Lin was faced with the issues of growth in the number of franchised stores and brand equity. In addition to an agreement or rejection, were there any other solutions that could defuse this crisis and reach a turning point?

Keywords: Franchise, Brand Equity, Central Kitchens, Food Supply Chain Management, Ansoff Matrix