Debonairs Pizza – “Try Something Amazing”
Brief Background
Known as the leading pizza quick service restaurant in South Africa, Debonairs Pizza was established in 1991. The two university students (one of them being Craig McKenzie) who founded this restaurant (operating in Pietermaritzburg from a family bakery) played a key role in setting up Debonairs to what it is today. Currently in South Africa there are 382 outlets (as of 28 February 2014). Recently, Debonairs has been launched in Mumbai, India which forms part of the 64 international outlets around the globe. In 1996, Famous Brands (previously known as “Steers Group of Companies” at the time) acquired Debonairs Pizza offering the restaurant quality professional assistance which is one of the many reasons why it was a stiff competitor within the fast food industry. Another key advantage they possess is their direct marketing strategy which centres on using innovative marketing projects and advertising campaigns to attract customers. Once customers are hooked, Debonairs works towards ensuring that an everlasting healthy relationship is present between the franchise and the consumer.
The main speciality is the pizza which includes variations in the meat and sauces included on the pizza base. The famous and original Triple Decker pizza is the highest contributor…show more content… The main principle that it represents is forming and maintaining strong relationships with all stakeholders especially customers. In conjunction with excellent customer service, effective advertising is the cornerstone of this strategy. Debonairs works at gathering information on consumer insights. These consumer perceptions change over time and this is why Debonairs also needs to change to make the brand more relevant through advertising. Innovation is also implemented in other business strategies so that the franchise develops and survives in the ‘Quick Service Restaurants’ (QSR)