Running head: SUGAR BOWL 1

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Sugar Bowl
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Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliation
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Sugar Bowl

The sugar bowl case study pertains to Shelby Givens, a recent graduate from business

school. Givens returned home aimed at rescuing the family ailing and out-of-date bowling alley.

In her return, she focused on moving the business from bankruptcy by cutting costs and

eliminating inefficiencies (Harvard Business School, n.d). But moving it to profitability is

challenging, and its validity is threatened by market conditions. Givens, therefore, came up with

Sugar Bowl, which was a youth-oriented model that could help the business to generate

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maximum revenue from the food and revenue business in Westlake Lanes. The changes included

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the introduction of new lane machinery and technology. There were also changes in the interior

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by increasing the space to make it a place for casual dining and socializing. Givens is

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considering two additional innovations, notably a band and league play, in order to increase the

sales specifically on Wednesday nights (Harvard Business School, n.d). But she needs to perform
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an analysis of Sugar Bowl's performance to present to the board meeting. The paper will focus
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on the Sugar Bowl case study and issues to be addressed include the essential details by an

analysis and solution to problems raised.

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Analysis

The case demonstrates that the business can be hindered by various key issues at different
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phases. There are many issues that are affecting Sugar Bowl and its profitability in the new and
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competitive environment. Westlake Lakes, which was the business that was started by Givens'

grandfather, Mr. Dane Sugar, utilized old techniques that led the business to losses. Using her

skills and abilities, Givens transformed the business from bankruptcy to making a profit. Givens

proposed changing the business to Sugar Bowl, and hence she needed to acquire enough revenue

to help her to complete the implementation of the project. There are several issues that can hinder

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the ability of the Sugar Bowl to remain sustainable. One of the major issues raised in the case

study is the ability to pay the debt within five years (Harvard Business School, n.d). Another

issue pertains to social and environmental factors. Westlake only provided bowling games

although over the last few years their popularity had been falling and hence, people could lose

interest in the club. There are also inefficiencies in the process and work as another issue that

could hinder the sustainability of the Sugar Bowl. Furthermore, other performance issues that

can be highlighted from the case are that the profits below benchmark and sales volume tend to

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decline during summer.

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Solution

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One long-term solution which can be considered in addressing the highlighted

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performance issues is strong and effective management. The management will not only assist the

business in achieving its objectives but also in generating more revenue and cutting the costs.
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Hence, the business will be able to meet loan conditions. Another solution is the identification of
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market segmentation, and it is an essential approach in the promotional and advertising process.

Generally, the market segment entails a group of individuals who have similar features, and they
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are considered together for marketing purposes. Some of the features considered while selecting

market segments include geographical, behavioral, and psychographic. As per this case, the
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business is targeting diverse segments, including young professionals and old graduates (Harvard
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Business School, n.d). The business should focus on one segment. Moreover, another solution is

marketing research in order to develop effective marketing strategies. Sugar Bowl should

conduct both primary and secondary marketing research to have awareness about the market

trend and changed preferences of potential customers. Furthermore, the business should adopt

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smart objectives that are specific to making efforts to resolve issues highlighted in different

phases. The objectives should focus on product marketing and diversification.

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References

Harvard Business School. (n.d). Faculty and Research: Sugar Bowl. Retrieved 15 January 2020,

from https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=43771

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