The BreadTalk Group was a leading Singapore-based bakery and restaurant chain, consisting of eight different brands that were sold across 15 countries in Asia. In a span of 12 years, it had become a premier lifestyle bakery brand in Southeast Asia, China and the Middle East, as well as a cherished household name in its native Singapore.
BreadTalk prided itself on having a culture of “creative differentiation”. The company strived to stay “fresh” by continuously changing and adapting to consumer demand; and “relevant” by offering localised and customised products to its customers. Although the company could boast of many past successes, there were new challenges ahead. With the number of new players growing rapidly, the marketplace was becoming increasingly competitive. New markets offered both opportunities and challenges. And customers had come to expect a constant stream of innovative products from the bakery chain.
As BreadTalk enters its mature stage of growth and comes head on with the challenges of international expansion, is its business model equipped to identify and address the risks associated with global brand management? Is the brand positioned well to seize future opportunity? Should it focus on its core competency and brand, or should it be looking to develop and aggressively promote other brands?
Through this case, students will learn about the challenges a business faces when it undertakes rapid international expansion. They will also explore the concept of core competency and apply it to BreadTalk’s brand strategy and the brand challenges often faced by organisations entering their mature stage of growth.
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· Teaching Note (SMU-16-0004TN)
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SMU Faculty/Staff can download the case & teaching note on iNet with your SMU login ID & Password via the following links:
· Teaching Note (SMU-16-0004TN)
For purchase of the case and supplementary materials via The Case Centre, please access the following links:
· Teaching Note (SMU-16-0004TN)
For purchase of the case and supplementary materials via Harvard Business Publishing, please access the following links:
· Teaching Note (SMU-16-0004TN)
(Please note you are purchasing the case only.)
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