Brennan Whetstone
MKT-452 – Prof. Johnson
2/6/2014
Case Study – TelePizza

Recap: TelePizza is the brainchild of Leopoldo Fernandez, a sales whiz from Cuba. The first TelePizza store opened in 1988 and became a rapid success – by 1993 there were 121 stores throughout Spain. The TelePizza brand was successful for many reasons, one of which being the principles by which the company does business. In terms of management, they start with the hiring process – hiring the right people and hiring young, entrusting employees with high degrees of responsibility along with training opportunities and incentives to succeed. Additionally, their standard of high flexibility allows the company to respond to any new information or changing market conditions. In terms of human resources, TelePizza relied heavily on constant analysis of management and frequent movement among positions to keep talent within the organization and problems to a minimum. Regular visits from senior managers and store supervisors helped maintain contact with personnel where managers receive coaching and communication from upper management. This system allowed TelePizza to grow so rapidly without breaking down HR capabilities. Other workforce challenges TelePizza overcame included keeping employees in high-turnover positions. They did this through raising the responsibilities of delivery employees; delivery personnel would leave coupons in the mailboxes of their segment area and be rewarded based on sales from their section. This would also allow TelePizza to contract data of where sales were frequent and where there were problem areas. A major “brand-builder” of TelePizza was primarily focused on children. One such program, “Magic Club”, was wildly successful. Additionally, invitations to schools to visit TelePizza stores allowed TelePizza to advertise (virtually or free) to every family