New Markets for Restaurant

International Management

Hard Rock Cafe Report

Written by Filiz K. McNamara

July 2011

Executive Summary

Changes in the dynamics of international management have taken place due to new economic players in the world economy, such as China and India. Because of this rapid growth there has been a new focus on international business ethics as well as management functions. As the Hard Rock Cafe (HRC) looks to expand its presence in the international market it must be aware of cultural, political, economic, and legal aspects of the country in which it wishes to establish itself. The latest proposal for the HRC is to create a new restaurant in Morocco; currently the cities of Tangier and Marrakech are the primary focus. Morocco sits in a crossroads between Europe and Africa, East and West, as well as the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean, placing them in a position to thrive even in a distressed world economy. Morocco currently has open trade agreements with Arab and West African nations as well as the Europe Union, United State, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, and Tunisia. All of these factors have attracted more than 2,500 companies to do business in Morocco, leading to an increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) even as global markets have struggled (Williams, 2010).

The location of Morocco gives the HRC a distinct advantage in the restaurant industry because it relies on the majority of its business to come from tourism. Currently Morocco has an estimated 7 million travelers enter their country; providing an economic gain of $6 billion annually (Heymorocco 2010).

There is already strong brand recognition in the region because of the presence of HRC restaurants in Europe. The goal of HRC would be to create one restaurant in Marrakech by August 2012 that would cater to the tourism industry, as well as to families that have disposable income with an interest in rock...