Daily bread – a gourmet pursuit
Publication date: 6 March 2017
Abstract
Synopsis
Arjun Sekri, a professional-turned-entrepreneur, set out to establish the first branded gourmet industrial bakery in Bengaluru, India in late 2002. His lack of experience in the unorganized food and beverages industry did not deter him from establishing a highly popular industrial and retail bakery chain called “Daily Bread”. The case is about his roller coaster ride in establishing a premium retail food brand in India. Though many of the stores did reasonably well, many things went wrong predominantly on the operations front due to the severe impact of global price inflation, manifested by high real estate rentals, raw material, packing and logistics costs and wage costs. After two years of rapid expansion, in order to curb the bleeding bottom line, Arjun decided to shut down all the newly created stores and production units except the one in Bengaluru which was doing well. By late 2009, the dilemma Arjun faced was what should he do next?
Research methodology
The case study is based on primary data collected from the protagonist and a few other stakeholders involved in the case along with secondary data from published sources.
Relevant courses and levels
Entrepreneurship courses at MBA level or executive programs.
Theoretical bases
The case deals with the life cycle management of a venture with special emphasis on opportunity evaluation, setting up, funding and stakeholders selection.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This case study was made possible through the generous co-operation from the protagonist and his associates of Daily Bread. Various newspapers articles were referred to validate the events. The case is intended as a basis for class discussion and purely for academic purposes rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of management situations. The authors also intend no harm to any of the persons or companies mentioned in the case.
Disclaimer. This case is written solely for educational purposes and is not intended to represent successful or unsuccessful managerial decision making. The authors may have disguised names; financial, and other recognizable information to protect confidentiality.
Citation
Abhi, S. and Venugopal, V. (2017), "Daily bread – a gourmet pursuit", , Vol. 13 No. 2, pp. 271-293. https://doi.org/10.1108/TCJ-08-2015-0043
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited