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MANA 201 Group Project
Introduction to Business and Management (Concordia University)
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MANAGEMENT CONSULTATION REPORT
FOR ST-HUBERT
Julia Lapointe 40215050
Farhan Ali Khan 40387970
Maxime Arseneau 40207886
Osamah Atrach 40224562
Charles-E Beaubien-Blais 40251958
Yani Gutierrez Galan 40163890
John Molson School of Business, Concordia University
MANA 201: Introduction to Business Management
Instructor: George Dracopoulos
December 4th, 2023
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1) INTRODUCTION
3
2) ANALYSIS
4
External Analysis
4
Internal Analysis
6
Final Problem Statement
8
3) RECOMMENDATION
9
4) IMPLEMENTATION
11
5) CONCLUSION
13
6) REFERENCES
14
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1) INTRODUCTION
Established in 1951, St-Hubert is a well-known Canadian restaurant chain. St-Hubert is
the most popular in Quebec and other French-Canadian areas such as Eastern Ontario and New
Brunswick. St-Hubert has established a solid reputation for providing family-friendly dining that
emphasizes food that is sourced locally; the restaurant specializes in rotisserie chicken
(St-Hubert, 2019). The company has added a wide range of items to its menu over time,
including club sandwiches, poutines, ribs, salads, and more. In terms of their mission and goals,
St-Hubert promotes community well-being while simultaneously offering top-notch dining
experiences. The main values of St-Hubert's mission is its dedication to quality, service, and
cleanliness. Their mission is to offer customers delicious and healthful food options, with an
emphasis on chicken dishes. Furthermore, St-Hubert also declares his support for community
involvement, animal welfare, and environmental responsibility. These values make St-Hubert
one of the most beloved restaurant chains in the Quebec province (St-Hubert, 2019).
This strategic management project is focused on St-Hubert, a classic establishment in the
Canadian restaurant industry. Our analysis explores how St-Hubert can leverage its strengths and
address its weaknesses (St-Hubert, 2019). Our goal is to deliver a nuanced understanding of the
company's current state and potential strategic pathways, in order to create recommendations that
will contribute to its legacy and future success in the Canadian restaurant industry(St-Hubert,
2019).
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2) ANALYSIS
In order to obtain a good grasp on St-Hubert’s current standing in the restaurant industry
and assess which aspects need improvement, we will first perform an external analysis, next an
internal analysis, and lastly our final problem statement.
External Analysis
Many trends in recent years have acted as external forces affecting the current standing of
St-Hubert in the restaurant industry. To better understand the impact of these forces, we will
perform both a PEST analysis followed by a Porter’s five forces analysis.
We will investigate the Political, Economic, Social and Technological forces affecting
St-Hubert. First, over the course of the last few decades, there has been increased concern over
environmental consciousness. This new attitude manifests not only as a social force compelling
restaurants to reconsider their methods of operations, but also as a political and technological
one. Today, restaurants in Canada are encouraged, through new regulations and incentives from
the government, to adopt new energy-saving and energy-efficient appliances and technologies
(Restaurants Canada, 2019). St-Hubert has adapted well to these changes by promoting their
eco-friendly policies such as: the discontinuation of their plastic straws, their change in
packaging, and having over 20% of their delivery vehicles be electric or hybrid (St-Hubert,
2023). Next, another major event in recent years that has shaken up the entire industry has been
Covid-19. This global crisis has had a major social, political, and economic impact on
restaurants. Many restaurants have and continue to suffer severe decreases in profitability (Shood
S., 2021), further aggravated by labor and supply shortages due to the lack of walk-in customers.
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Although the government has greatly alleviated its regulations in recent days, many restaurants
including St-Hubert have been forced to rely more on their delivery services. Coupled with
inflation, the prices of their menu items have also increased over the last decade, further leading
to a decline in customers (Kirby J., 2023).
We will now analyze Porter’s five forces and how they’ve impacted St-Hubert. First, in
St-Hubert faces fierce competition against all other family dining and fast food chains as well as
local restaurants. Although the barrier to entry is moderate in the restaurant industry due to the
capital required to maintain and manage an establishment, the industry has recently seen the rise
of virtual restaurants or ghost kitchens. These businesses outsource the cooking of their meals to
existing kitchens and offer the services exclusively through delivery. In addition to cutting the
costs needed for owning a physical restaurant, these new competitors have greatly risen in
popularity during the pandemic (Pollak N., 2023). Furthermore, St-Hubert must also face several
alternatives that have emerged in recent years, such as the advent of Meal Kits and DIY cooking,
which are rising in popularity in the North American market (GrandViewResearch, 2021). These
kits advertise themselves as a healthier and more affordable alternative that delivers ready to
make customizable meals straight to customers’ doors. As a result of the threat of these
competitors and alternatives, the buyers, in other words the St-Hubert’s customers, have gained
significant power as they now have plenty of more convenient and affordable choices.
Additionally, in terms of suppliers, although we don't have access to precise data regarding
St-Hubert’s supply chain, we know the pandemic has significantly impacted the entire restaurant
industry through numerous shortages (Williams V., 2022). It is clear that in order to recover from
this disruption and keep their bargaining power, St-Hubert must continue to maintain a diverse
network of local suppliers and prepare contingency plans should a similar event reoccur.
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In summary, there are many recent trends and events that have acted as major cultural,
economic, forces that have impacted the restaurant industry. St-Hubert is currently facing
unprecedented changes in the environment, they must assess their current standing and overcome
these challenges.
Internal Analysis
Having acquired a comprehensive understanding of the context at hand of the external
forces affecting the restaurant industry in recent years, we can now take a closer look at the
specific strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats belonging to St-Hubert. Using this
SWOT analysis, we will evaluate the competitive standing of St-Hubert against other restaurants
within the market through data collected from personal observations during our team’s visit to
the Place des Arts branch, online reviews, and financial estimates.
Firstly, we will discuss the strengths unique to St-Hubert that help them stand out against
their competition. Established in 1951, St-Hubert enjoys a strong French-Canadian brand
recognition. The family-oriented dining option, catering to its customers with locally sourced
food, is known for their specialty, rotisserie chicken, along with their ribs, salads and poutines.
The appeal of chicken is common-place to many customers and can be easily supplied regardless
of seasonal conditions. Their versatility of chicken allows for its addition into a range of meals;
club sandwiches, poutines and rice, also catering for customers on the go. Contrary to most
restaurants, St-Hubert also generates a revenue stream through their sale of their food products to
retail customers, such as their prestigious gravy sauce, and other seasonings and appetizers made
in their kitchens. A staggering 66% of those sales from their food manufacturing operations are
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to external customers, including national grocery customers Costco and Metro, all made under
two St-Hubert owned distribution centers and another leased (Cara, 2016).
In contrast, we will now analyze the weakness and flaws of St-Hubert’s procedures. As
observed by reviews on Yelp and Google Maps from multiple branches, there exists a common
theme shared between dissatisfied customers. Firstly, there appears to be a lack of quality
control. Many items are reportedly missing in take-out and pick-up orders, with some customers
eluding that it occurs while dining in, too. Secondly, the price to portion ratio is underwhelming.
A local guide by the name of ‘Joe Myers’ left a review on another rotisserie chicken franchise
‘Benny & Co’, stating how the quality is similar to St-Hubert but at a much better price. Just one
out of many reviewers that share the same sentiment. Thirdly, during our inquiry of the Place des
Arts branch, the waitress was occupied on the landline and was not attentive enough to attend us
when we entered. As we were seated, some menus lacked the promotional page at the end, and
the table next to us had crumbs from the previous customers. The fact the restaurant was
practically empty during lunch hours was very indicative of its decline.
Next, we will uncover the recently emerged opportunities St-Hubert could take advantage
of. St-Hubert can benefit from focusing their express locations next to St-Catherine and McGill
streets, as that location is known for the large population of students who are looking for a
quick-bite and can sacrifice the indoor dining experience.
Finally, we will evaluate the threats St-Hubert could potentially face. With the continued
economic inflation, the average Canadian finds eating out as a luxury more than a need, which
was also expressed by Genevieve, that after COVID-19, even the regulars stopped showing up.
Moreover, the changing consumer preferences as they shift into more diverse or healthy options
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can put St-Hubert at risk of re-evaluating their traditions. There is also a rising non-Quebecois
population that does not relate with the French St-Hubert image. Half of our team found
difficulty consuming an advertisement or promotion written in French, as they are considered
anglophone students. The limited geographic presence outside of Quebec (7 branches in Ontario
and 4 in New Brunswick) is a vulnerability as it shows its dependence on a specific market taste,
with limited growth potential outside of it (St-Hubert, 2023).
Final Problem Statement
In light of the external and internal analyses, the overarching problem St-Hubert faces is
the need for a comprehensive strategic realignment to navigate the evolving landscape of the
Canadian restaurant industry. The brand needs to devise solutions that tackle pressing issues like
the COVID-19 pandemic's aftereffects, reliance on suppliers, and increased competition from
online kitchens and other dining options. St-Hubert has to address its internal operational
problems, which include limited menu selections for particular consumer categories, pricing
difficulties, and quality control challenges. It becomes critical to enhance customer experiences
in terms of service and product offerings to draw in and keep a diversified clientele. Furthermore,
opportunities, such as strategically locating express locations, should be leveraged to maximize
market penetration. Simultaneously, threats arising from economic uncertainties, shifting
consumer preferences, and limited geographic presence demand proactive measures to ensure
sustained growth and relevance. The problem statement essentially focuses on developing a
comprehensive plan that will take advantage of strategic opportunities, improve internal skills,
handle consumer complaints, and match St-Hubert's operations with new trends in the industry.
Quebec's residents have strong emotional and nostalgic ties to St-Hubert, more than just a
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restaurant; it's a spot they used to visit with their parents when they were children. To secure
long-term success and expansion, St-Hubert can position itself as a flexible and resilient
participant in the Canadian restaurant scene by highlighting its cultural traditions and offering
customers more than simply cuisine.
3) RECOMMENDATION
St-Hubert is currently adapting to changing customer behaviors post Covid-19. They are
faced with challenges which include adapting to new market realities, including a shift towards
delivery services and digital engagement. In order to embrace these changes, we recommend
St-Hubert implement our recommendations using the Four step model of organizational change.
Saint Hubert must assess the need for change, decide on the change to make, implement the
change and evaluate the change after all changes have been made after two years.
First, it is essential that St-Hubert address its inconsistent service and quality control.
They should implement a standardized training program for staff and conduct regular quality
control to ensure that all restaurants have a high standard for food and customer service quality.
Implementing a standardized training program and regular quality checks can be expensive, and
staff may be resistant to change. To mitigate this, we could apply these changes gradually and get
regular feedback from our staff.
Second, our team suggests that St-Hubert needs to enhance its digital presence and
community engagement, focusing on local marketing and leveraging local influences. St-Hubert
should reassess their digital marketing strategy to include a strong focus on social media
engagement, user-generated content, and local influencer partnership. Increasing their presence
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on social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and X, will lead to the organic development of
the brand and help create brand loyalty, and appeal to a younger demographic to attract a new
segment of the market. Studies reveal that, “60 percent of consumers who research products
online,
learned
about
a
specific
retailer
or
brand
through
social
networking
sites”(Venkateswaran, 2019). It it shown that risks that comes with social media is brand
hijacking, lack of control of corporate content and negative comments (Venkateswaran,2019). It's
important to regularly monitor the digital campaigns and be ready to adapt if the strategy is doing
poorly.
Thirdly, we also suggest that St-Hubert should focus on a more fast food approach and
should establish more express locations in Canada instead of building St-Hubert chains. As
shown in our analysis, there is a huge shift in customer preferences toward quick and convenient
dining options. St-Hubert should concentrate on improving their delivery options and setting up
more express locations in strategic areas, such as universities or busy commercial districts. For
St-Hubert to succeed in the express market, these location menus should be simplified to
improve consistency and efficiency, and pricing adjusted. According to studies, fast food chains
such as Dominos Pizza and Subway have succeeded due to its low costs and its organizational
structure(Lichtenberg,2012).This will increase overall customer satisfaction and help retain
younger customers who are price sensitive. The risk here is that ensuring efficiency in express
location is hard if you don’t want to compromise quality, this could also change the brand’s
perception and alienate our current customer base. Its why its important to conduct a thorough
research market research and focus on logistics and supply chain efficiency to keep the same
quality but lower the cost
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4) IMPLEMENTATION
We recommend that over the span of two years, St-Hubert implement quality control,
media presence-rebranding and to expand the St-Hubert Express.
As shown in Figure 1, quality control would be implemented first, as it is crucial to
maintain high customer satisfaction. This would be done within the first six months though staff
training and regular quality control. Secondly, we suggest implementing more media presence
and rebranding the company. This will be done within the next six months thoroughly, however
the presence of social media and collaborations with media influences should always be
continuous even after the allocated time. Lastly, to expand the St-Hubert express. This will take
the most time, therefore we suggest a year for this. Adding more express locations will rebrand
the company and make the brand a more fast food chain like restaurant. Adding express locations
in areas where there are not many St-Hubert already placed will increase the awareness of the
restaurant. These express locations will also have price decreases. Contingencies such as,
resource availability, stakeholder involvement, risk management and task durations can arise,
thus we have given additional room as a contingency for these potential issues.
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Fig 1. Gantt Chart St-Hubert’s Implementation Plan
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5) CONCLUSION
St-Hubert is a restaurant chain deeply rooted in Canadian culture, particularly in Quebec.
Our analysis has revealed the significant challenges arising in the evolving landscape of the
Canadian restaurant industry in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, with increased
competition from various dining options, and changing consumer preferences. As such, the need
for a comprehensive strategic realignment to address the identified issues and position St-Hubert
is imperative for sustained growth. We recommend that the chain focus on improving service
quality and consistency, enhancing digital presence, community engagement, and embracing a
more fast-food approach with the establishment of express locations. With a phased approach
addressing quality control, media presence, rebranding and the expansion of St-Hubert express
location, we believe they will successfully increase profits. St-Hubert's success lies in its ability
to navigate the dynamic restaurant industry by strategically realigning its operations and its
brand loyalty. As a Canadian company that has been thriving for the past 73 years, we believe
they will be able to implement these changes effectively.
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6) REFERENCES
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https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g183456-d772212-r449026427-Rotisserie_St_H
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Cara Operations Limited. (2018, December 22). Cara completes acquisition of St-Hubert. Cision Canada.
https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/cara-completes-acquisition-of-st-hubert-592144141.html
Cara. (2016, March). Acquisition of Groupe St-Hubert - recipeunlimited.investorroom.com. Acquisition
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Growjo. (n.d.). Groupe St-Hubert Revenue and competitors. Groupe St-Hubert: Revenue, Competitors,
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IBISWorld. (2023, October 10). IBISWorld - industry market research, reports, and Statistics. IBISWorld
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Kirby, J. (2023, September 8). Fewer Canadians dining out as inflation and interest rates bite consumer
spending. The Globe and Mail.
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GrandViewResearch (2021). Meal kit delivery services market size & share report, 2030. Meal Kit
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Lichtenberg, A. L. (2012). A historical review of five of the top fast food restaurant chains to
determine the secrets of their success.
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Morissette, N. (2021, December 6). Groupe St-Hubert: Vers Le Milliard de Ventes. La Presse.
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anniversary with a carbon-neutral delivery service. Cision Canada.
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es-its-70th-anniversary-with-a-carbon-neutral-delivery-service-859378922.html
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St-Hubert. (2019). Social Responsibility Report.
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