Case Study corporate profile: planet hollywood (part 1)

Background:

A large theme-restaurant chain Planet Hollywood is one of the most successful and most popular restaurant companies well known worldwide. Here standard fast-food dishes are deliberately mixed with entertainment, making Planet Hollywood famous for the various Hollywood memorabilia associated with movie stars. It is especially popular with the young ones.

1. Read the supporting material and provide detailed answers to the case questions below.

Although not one of the largest restaurant chains, Planet Hollywood is undoubtedly one of the most successful and most popular restaurant com­panies. Robert Fail became well known for developing American restau­rants in London during the late 1960s. At the time, it was impossible to get American food in London. After a brief, but successful, career with Hard Rock Cafe, he launched Planet Hollywood in Manhattan in 1991.

Planet Hollywood bills itself as a theme restaurant that mixes entertain­ment -- loud music, videos, and displays of Hollywood memorabilia -with standard fare like pizza, hamburgers, and pasta. To create this show business atmosphere, Planet Hollywood'?, architect, David Rockwell de­signed all restaurants with the idea of keeping the design fresh without overwhelming the guests with memorabilia. This creates an overall ex­perience that is comfortable as well as exciting.

Backed by movie stars Brace Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Demi Moore, Sylvester Stallone, and Whoopi Goldberg, Earl has opened fifty-five restaurants around the world. The investment by Hollywood movie stars is indeed a great advantage for the restaurant chain. In addition to being present at every new opening, they occasionally dine at one of their restaurants. The possibility of meeting a movie celebrity, however slim it may be, is a strong force that attracts the public [1, 199].

(to be continued)

Vocabulary notes

to launch зд. впервые открывать

Manhattan Манхэттен центральный район Нью-Йорка, расположенный на одноименном острове

theme restaurant зд. тематический ресторан, интерьер которого выдержан в определенном, строго за­данном стиле и посвящен одной домини­рующей теме

to bill (Am. E.) зд. рекламировать

entertainment развлечение; приятное проведение досуга

memorabilia памятные вещи; реликвии (предметы, которых касалась рука знаменитости)

architect зд. создатель; вдохновитель

pasta блюда из макаронных изделий

to overwhelm зд. подавлять; насильно навязывать

fare зд. набор блюд; меню

movie star кинозвезда

advantage преимущество

celebrity знаменитость

however slim it may be зд. какой бы маловероятной она ни была

occasionally зд. время от времени

Case questions:

1. Is Planet Hollywood one of the largest restaurant chains in the world?

2. What other large restaurant chains operating worldwide do you know?

3. Who launched Planet Hollywood?

4. When and where was a Planet Hollywood unit opened first?

5. Why does Planet Hollywood bill itself as a theme restaurant?

6. What do theme restaurants offer their guests apart from high-quality food?

7. What idea are all Planet Hollywood restaurants designed with?

8. Why is the investment by Hollywood movie stars such a great advantage for this restaurant chain?

Role-play:

Pretend you are willing to turn your traditional restaurant into a theme one. You want to create your own specific restaurant concept and make a profitable use of it. You make up your mind to drastically change the decor and introduce Hard Rock memorabilia to create this show business atmosphere.

While making a final decision consider the following issues:

• you intend to become a leader in this market niche;

• you are educated and experienced enough;

• you are not a very experienced restaurateur yet;

• you plan to be backed by some Russian and Ukrainian Hard Rock stars;

• you are willing to show an uncompromising commitment to high-quality food and enhanced service;

• you intend to introduce Georgian cuisine;

• it is quite possible to get Georgian food in your town;

• you are ready to make up dynamic menus that meet Hard Rock lovers' changing tastes;

• you possess abilities to provide the necessary resources for rapid region-wide expansion.