The Unique Brand Elements of 'Hotel Saravana Bhavan' - An International Restaurant Chain
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Case Code: BSTR458 Case Length: 13 Pages Period: 1981 - 2013 Pub Date: 2014 Teaching Note: Not Available |
Price: Rs.300 Organization: Hotel Saravana Bhavan Industry: Fast Food Industry Countries: India, Global Themes: Brand Management, Business Strategy, Entrepreneurship, Human Resource Management |
Abstract Case Intro 1 Case Intro 2 Excerpts
Background Note
Rajagopal was born to a poor family in a remote south Indian village called Punnaiadi in August 1947. The village did not have even a bus stop. The family’s poor financial situation forced the boy to drop out of primary school. Rajagopal said, "My father, who was an ordinary farmer simply could not afford to pay for my education." He left home at the age of 13 to earn his own livelihood.
Subsequently, he took up a job as a cleaner in a cheap restaurant located in a distant resort town. Rajagopal said the job that earned him a paltry salary of Rs 5.20, required him to be up at five in the morning and work late into the night. Later, he worked at various other hotels and shops, including a vessel shop and a grocery shop, thereby managing to save up some money.
In 1968, while still a teenager, R ajagopal arrived in Chennai, the largest city in Southern India. With Rs. 5,000 (which included contributions from his father and brother-in-law), Rajagopal set up a grocery store at K.K.Nagar, a locality in Chennai. He ran the shop with the help of his brother and a cousin. The store was mostly patronized by harbor workers, who sometimes came in drunk and behaved badly with them (demanding loans and using abusive language).
Though Rajagopal patiently bore the unruly behavior of the drunken harbor workers, keeping in mind his financial obligations to his relatives, his brother and cousin could not cope with it. One day, they decided they had had enough and quit. For more than a month, Rajagopal managed the store single-handed, taking care of a range of activities such as buying stocks and manning the counter. Fortunately, he was then able to convince his brother and cousin to return to the business...
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