Gloria Jeans Resarch Proposal Essay

Gloria Jeans started as a small coffee and gift shop in Chicago, USA in 1979. However, it wasn’t until 1995 that the company would become an Australian favourite, when the company was bought out by two Australian business men travelling in the USA. Today, Gloria Jeans operates over 1,000 coffee houses in 39 countries, but it is in Australia they are best known and loved, with over 460 coffee houses in Australia. Gloria Jeans has evolved from a simple coffee house into a specialty store, offering many different types of coffee, cakes and cold drinks. The market is highly competitive, and Gloria Jeans targets a younger demographic (peoples aged 18-25). Although successful, Gloria Jeans has been struck hard by giant competitors such as Starbucks and Au Bon Pain entering the Australian market, where Gloria Jeans has historically remained on top. Due to this, the company has decided to perform research to determine the preferences of their consumers, and to allow them to ensure their product mix is appropriate for their current customer base. Research Topic From the background information, the following research problem has been identified: To identify the types of customers that frequent Gloria Jeans coffee houses, to identify the types of products they purchase or are interested in purchasing, to determine the perceived quality of the products offered and to identify the patronage patterns of customers. The primary aim will be to determine the buying behaviour of Gloria Jeans customers, their perception of the products offered, if they prefer to drink coffee in house or take-away, and if the products offered are appropriate for the customers. As well as this, the company also wishes to determine the demographic features of its customers. Research Objectives The overall objective of the research is ‘to identify the consumption behaviour of Gloria Jeans’ customers’. This has been broken into the following three research objectives: 1) To determine the number of people who drink coffee, the frequency of their intake and whether do they prefer in-house or take-away coffee. 2) To identify whether the products available at Gloria Jeans are appropriate for the target market. 3) To examine customer attitude towards Gloria Jeans and its competitors in regards to product range, quality and comparability with competitors. These objectives aim to focus the research on the key areas identified and allow the development of a strategic research plan.