SECTION AQUESTION 1: CASE STUDY Downtown Downtown is a fast food franchise located in Borno, Kano, Abuja and Kaduna state in Nigeria. Within the 4 states, the restaurant has 8 branches and 2 partly owned subsidiaries. The owner is a 35 year old Lebanese who was born and raised in Maiduguri that speaks fluent Hausa, Kanuri and English. The first branch was opened in Lagos street, Maiduguri while the owner was still a student in University over 10 years ago. In 2013, the first of three branches in Kano was opened which was also a huge success and rapidly became on top of fast food restaurants in Kano. After 4 years in Kano, the owner decided to move to Abuja with the help of his friend Tahir Fathallah whom is in charge of sales and marketing of the franchise. The Kaduna branch has been completed but the opening has been delayed due to the corona virus pandemic. The menu is consistent in all the branches in terms of quality and recipes although prices of the same products vary from state to state due to the cost of production. The menu has Combination of all fast food recipes: Shawarmas, Burgers, Crispy. Subs pizzas, jollof \fried rich and ice cream. The main strength of the franchise is the opening and closing times together with the ability to adapt to the need of individuals in every state. In Maiduguri, it became popular because it was one of the first Arab fast food restaurant in Borno that mainly targeted students in schools like university of Maiduguri. The owner stated that "I change my strategy according to the need and demand of the people" which why he decided to adapt to some new strategies in Kano. All the fast food restaurants in Kano close by 10 and downtown became popular for closing at 12:30 to 1 am depending on the orders they have therefore became was costumers go to place for late night food. After a few years he open more branches around Bayero University and Aminu Kano hospital. In 2017, Downtown Maitama was opened with a few modifications were made to the services offered by the restaurant like the introduction of shisha, different types of coffee and tea. The swift change made a huge difference because majority of the people now buy the food and drinks as complementary to shisha. Within the first year, they became the first fast food place start 24 hours services and delivery in Abuja and within the same year became one of the top restaurants in Abuja. Each state has a different manager because the systems are different. For instance, the two branches in Abuja (Gwarimpa, Maitama) run for 24 hours and the staff work for 12 hours every day while cashiers work 24 hours shifts. The cashiers will close the books every 24 hours and submit to the supervisor: the waiters are separate from the cashiers which in this case is the finance department. If an order is placed the cashier prints a receipt and is sent to the kitchen for the order to be placed. The cashiers are degree holders in both the two big branches that are located in Abuja so they keep track of all the cash flow in the restaurant. Tahir is in charge of all the supplies needed for the kitchen and restaurant maintenance; items like bread, meat, water, drinks and disposable containers. The system is well organized they provide an integrates management action. The franchise engages in a lot of e marketing through Instagram, twitter and Facebook. As of yesterday, they announced online that they will continue the 2417 Delivery in Abuja during the pandemic with 50% off the delivery charge and free for areas around the restaurant. The campaigned got a lot of media attention and people were reposting it for people in self isolation. The decision was as a counter measure to the negative effect the corona virus will have on them with people staying indoors. With enough orders from families around Abuja he can maintain his business and still make profit in the time of crisis. For years, E marketing has been a strong hold for the franchise due to the unique and continent service they provide. The introduction of 24 hours service/delivery already put the restaurant on the map and they have tried to maintain it. The restaurants also show football games and nationwide shows like big brother eviction. Before important games they post online to remind costumers that they can also watch the game at the restaurants. One of the most interesting factor about the franchise is the pricing of the products and services; the most expensive food on the menu is 2500 naira which is the price of the chicken pizza which makes it cheaper than most of its competitors. Eating in the restaurant is service/tax free, for instance, chicken wings cost 2000 naira without tax or services in new Yorker and 1500 in downtown. Downtown sells more for a cheaper price. The main reason why I choose this establishment as my case study was because of how fast the business grew and survived 3 different states with different techniques/forms of services. The owner stated that him coming to Abuja with the intention of opening the place was his 3rd time coming to Abuja. He stayed for 3 months for market survey and finding a location for the new shop and still maintain shops in two different states. As a 35 year old entrepreneur to build such a franchise within 10 years take a lot of management, marketing and sales skills at the same time studying and expanding his market. The future plans and ambitions of the owner also is intrigue and impressive that now he is selling the franchise to people just like downtown Gwarimpa and Kaduna state in which other people will invest the money he will train and manage the establishment for 60% of the total profit and as for the two partly owned subsidiaries the take on another name but he trains the workers and the manage the establishment for 60% of the total profit and as for the two partly owned subsidiaries the take on another name but he trains the workers and the food is his recipes so he takes 30% as in the case of snap caf in Kano. Questions for Considerations (20 Marks)Discuss the Strengths, Strategies and the techniques use in the Downtown fast food franchise What are the success factors of Downtown