Red Lobster in China

According to Red Lobster’s company fact sheet listed on the Website (http://www.redlobster.com/press/fact_sheet/), they are “…the world’s largest casual dining seafood restaurant company with nearly 700 restaurants in the United States and Canada and more than 63,000 employees,” and they “…enjoyed total sales of $2.63 billion in fiscal 2008.”

For this assignment, you are going to be part of the Red Lobster Executive Committee as they consider expanding into China.

Write a six to eight (6-8) page paper in which you:
1.    Review key points from Darden Restaurant’s most recent 10-K. Their stock symbol on the NYSE is DRI.
2.    Currently, Red Lobster operates only in the U.S. and Canada.
3.    Compare and contrast two (2) other U.S. restaurant companies who have successfully or unsuccessfully entered the Chinese market.
4.    Explain the type of potential target consumers for Red Lobster in China and how this might affect your menu choices.
5.    As a member of the Red Lobster Executive Committee, analyze three (3) considerations before entering the Chinese market (e.g., distribution and availability of supplies, construction, policies, environment, laws, recruitment, talent management, etc.) and determine how each consideration will affect your decision to proceed.
6.    Determine how Red Lobster would measure its success once it establishes a restaurant presence in China.
7.    Use at least five (5) quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not quality as academic resources.