Determinants of Successful Outlets in the South African Quick Service Restaurant Industry

MBA - WBSThe South African Quick Service Restaurant Industry is a multi million Rand industry. Fast-food chains spend millions on branding, advertising, site location and other factors to obtain a competitive advantage and improve annual sales. This research aims to determine the factors that contribute to increased turnover in the quick service restaurant industry. These factors are categorised into internal factors of customer service and external factors of store site location. By sampling 71 stores in a national Quick Service Industry group, this research applied factor analysis and multiple regression techniques to determine the significant factors of both site location and customer satisfaction contributing to improved store turnover. Site location data were collected using objective extrapolation techniques for 71 stores, which were then ratified through store surveys. Customer Satisfaction data were collected by interviewing 20 customers in 14 stores in the Gauteng region. The findings of this research suggest that factors related to site location such as the presence of a bank in the centre; as well as the presence of a McDonalds or Wimpy store within a 3km radius have a positive correlation to store turnover. Within the factors of customer satisfaction, only staff and service correlate positively with store turnover. The relevance of the findings speak to the importance of symbiotic business relationships in the quick service industry, the importance of business attractors such as banks; as well as the key differentiator of staff in improving turnover. In conclusion, this research suggests many further areas for more detailed research into some of the findings that allude to the importance of a more detailed understanding of relationships between factor