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INTRODUCTION:
Hardee's is a restaurant chain, located mostly in the Midwestern and Southeast regions of the United States. Over the years it has evolved through several corporate ownerships since its establishment in 1960. It is presently owned and operated by CKE Restaurants. Along with its sibling restaurant chain, Carl's Jr., Hardee's is the #5 U.S. fast-food restaurant chain. Hardee's founder, Wilbur Hardee, opened his first restaurant on September 9, 1960 in Greenville, North Carolina. The chain experienced rapid growth by franchising and, to a lesser extent, by acquiring other restaurant chains on the strength of its manly menu items, including the Huskee,. The first company store was opened in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, in May 1961. CKE Restaurants, Inc. is the parent company of - 1,000 Carl's Jr, restaurants, 97 La Salsa Fresh Mexican Grills restaurants, and 2,181 Hardee's restaurants. The restaurant chains within the CKE parent are franchisers, with limited company ownership of retail stores. As with all franchises, one of the corporate parent's primary objectives is the proliferation of the franchise brand that provides most coveted escalation of revenue through franchise fees. As Hardee's accounts for the majority share of both retail stores and revenues for CKE Restaurants, the strategy that Hardee's employs will have a substantial financial impact on CKE.

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:
The Hardees menu is designed to provide fast food customers with what they want: bigger, better burgers. Their menu features a line of their gourmet 100% Black Angus beef burgers. The premium burgers at Hardees are deliciously complemented by their line of Hand-Scooped Ice Cream Shakes & Malts which are made with real ice cream. The Hardees menu also includes delicious, high-quality, whole-breast chicken sandwiches, indulgent salads and craveable breakfasts which are desired by all. Their breakfast favorites include the Monster Biscuit and the loaded Breakfast Burrito. Hardees restaurants can be dualbranded with Red Burrito, adding a Mexican-style menu to broaden appeal and increase transactions thereby adding spice and variety to their menu.

It serves its customers with healthy and tasty dining options and constantly change their menu, mix of spices, sauces, toppings, etc according to the need of their customers and always strive to pleasantly surprise and satisfy their customers with every bite. They serve various and numerous items such as breakfast ( includes Bacon.egg and cheese biscuit, fried-stake and gravy platter, omelet, Colombian blend coffee, sausage and egg biscuit, and many more), burgers ( charbroiled burgers, turkey burger, bacon n cheese burger, mushroom burger, ham burger, cheese burger, etc), chicken and other dishes ( buffalo chicken, Chicken fillet, chilly dog, BBQ breaded chicken, etc), side dishes (onion rings, french fries, different sauces, etc), desserts (Oreo ice-cream sandwich, ice-creams, shakes. Malt, apple turnover, etc), beverages (various soft drinks, tea, coffee, shakes, milk, water, juice, etc), ALT options (low carb items, gluten-sensitive items, vegetarian items, etc). All of the above items come in numerous combinations with a large variety of sauces, toppings and sizes. At Hardees a customer would never run out of options to choose from. Hardees not only serves supreme quality food but also provides a nutrional guide, allergens and ingredients of all their items thereby informing their customers well.

GLOBAL PRESENCE:
The company operates in over 1917 locations worldwide and over 29 countries. It is more prominent in the United States.

OLD MARKETING STRATEGIES:

1. Branding is the key Their marketing strategy has always been as innovative and focused as their business strategy, resulting in one of the strongest and most recognized brands in the industry. Hardees advertising is designed to be seen and remembered, with cutting-edge campaigns that are humorous and provocative. They are leaders in social media marketing with large followings on sites like Facebook and Twitter. Their marketing is quite remarkable.

2. Innovation is the difference Their innovative menu strategy is focused on developing premium, sit-down restaurant-quality menu items that offer the convenience and value of fast food. With significant enhancements to the customer experience such as partial table service, Hardees provides a quick-service experience Six Dollar Service that consistently matches the menu quality. 3. Franchise growth is the future The company believes that franchise growth is the future of the Hardees brand. Franchisees play a major role in the success of their brand, and we believe in maintaining strong business relationships with their franchisees, listening to their ideas and offering outstanding support. They are dedicated to helping franchisees build growing restaurant operations that are sustainable for the long term. To this end, the strategy and core positioning of the Hardees brand is oriented to building top-line sales that support franchise profitability via best-in-class products, service and marketing. Why India: There are a lot of factors which make India an ideal location for entry. In most of the developed countries where Hardees operates such as the United States the market for fast food and restaurants is saturated thereby creating a need for the firm to search for other locations as well. Apart from this other market factors bearing on the fast food segment are: a) consumer tastes are slowly evolving toward a desire for more healthy meals. There is increasing pressure on fast food chains to offer low fat, nutritious alternatives. b) technology is changing the way Americans shop and the restaurant industry is beginning to feel the impact of this shift in consumer behavior. Over fifty six percent of all restaurants currently have web sites. c) the American population is aging which will impact the available low wage labor market and the customer behavior trends. When it comes to restaurant spending, household income is one of the most influential characteristics. Indian market however is growing at a fast pace. The disposable income of houshold and individuals are also on a rise. The increased affordability of people with western
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exposure and brand recognition factors in metros is another factor making India an ideal location. Furthermore, people in the metros are open to experiment with variety of foods. Absorption of newer cultures is faster in the Metros than other areas. However, studies show that more and more people, especially in the urban areas are open to accepting and experimenting with the western culture. The consumer tastes are adopting and changing and more and more consumers are being aware of these international brands thereby more than willing to try them. The customer markets are eager to acquire newer products and use newer forms of services. Foreign brands are valued and perceived to be superior in quality.Aditionally, India is rich in resources; be it vegetables, spices or even land for animal husbandary, everything is available in India facilitating manufacturing and attaining raw materials. Eating Habits - In the recent past eating out was a special occasion to many Indian families. However the trends are soon changing especially in the metropolitan cities whith more nuclear families and dual income households, the demand for fast and readymade food is growing. Thereby stimulating the need for such joints and new products and services.

Furthermore, after the repeal of FERA and the coming into force of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA), foreign investors found their passage into India with rules for entry becoming far more favorable. Today, a convenient medium of entry by foreign companies into the Indian market is franchising. Franchising also exists as a successful business module for local companies in India within various sectors. All of the above factors make India an ideal location for entry.

MARKETING STRATEGIES TO BE FOLLOWED IN INDIA:

India as a market is a unique example of diversity. Divided into 28 states and 7 union territories, the vegetation, climate, religion, language, clothing, and food varies from one state to another. With the combination of spices in a unique way, food of these states reflects their traditions and culture. Hence the biggest challenge to any food business in India definitely is about balancing the diversity and the product offerings. The current strategies will not be sufficient if the firm wants to thrive in the Indian market. It needs to tackle some of challenges it would face.

Vegetarianism:

Hardees is known for its sumptuous beef burgers, however the major issue in India would be serving beef. Cow being sacred and worshipped, beef could not be served. Muslims did not eat pork. The challenge is to change the form of the worldwide popular hamburger to make an entry into India. With 25-30% of the population being lacto vegetarian and a large majority eating meat, an alternative to beef and pork is necessary. Strategy: To tackle this scenario Hardees would need to adapt its product in accordance with the consumers. As Hardees is so innovative, flexible and immensely proactive in its approach it can produce vegetarian burgers and other dishes to please and tap the vegetarians and find alternatives to beef and pork. Target marketing:

The firm needs to identify its customers. Once the consumers are recognized it can more effectively market and communicate to them. The firm also needs to understand a consumer market were the ability of the people to buy, consumer needs, buying motives and the buying proces. Hardees can target children as well with their Cool Kids combos. They already have a very attractive website just for children to visit and order from, aditionally they can also play interesting games on the site. Hardees advertising is designed to be seen and remembered, with cutting-edge campaigns that are humorous and provocative. We are leaders in social media marketing with large followings on sites like Facebook and Twitter. Competition from local food retailers:

The local food outlets in India are widespread and the retailers are familiar with the local tastes and eating habits. Hardees can attempt to induce trials and get the customers into the restaurants. Word of mouth and advertising it can expect to reveal the experience of eating at Hardees. Apart from this, Hardees innnovative, fun and humourous advertising and marketing campaigns are very effective and will do the trick. Pricing :

The mass markets in India is price sensitive.The positive factors include the growth in consumer markets with rapid growth in disposable incomes, development of modern urban lifestyles and

the demand for value. However like before Hardees can customize the price according to the customers. Indianization of the brand: This would help Hardees establish in a new market successfully. The brands success is attributed to its promise of a great fun filled experience delivered at its outlets. Why old strategy could not work To enter a versatile and diverse market such as India, Hardees would need to use additional strategies as mentioned above along with their usual strategy of branding, innovation and franchising. This would ascertain its success in the Indian market.

ENTRY STRATEGY AND DISTRIBUTION:

Some of the strategies Hardees would need to adopt to enter and penetrate the Indian market include: 1. Suppliers: Hardees must find local suppliers for their raw materials. Be it dairy products, vegetables, meat, etc. There are a numerad of local manufacturers and producers with whom the management can link and source its requirements. It can focus on making a successful supply chain strategy and implement its pricing flexibility and new product launches from time to time. Local sourcing apart from its raw material requirement even constructing restaurants using local architects, contractors, local material (wherever possible) can be done. In doing so it can establish a mutually beneficial relationship between itself and its Indian suppliers; as Hardee's expands in India, suppliers would continue to get the opportunity to expand their businesses, access to the latest in food technology, exposure to advanced agricultural practices and the ability to grow or to export. 2. Employment: The franchise model of Hardees can provide a significant source of employment for many people in India, in return Hardees will have employees how knows the Indian market as well as the language and the culture of the people.
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3. Joint ventures: Hardees can opt for 50:50 joint ventures with Indian entrepreneurs. This approach can greatly facilitate its entry into the country. 4. Franchising: It is crucial that Hardees adhere to the Indian regulations pertaining to retail and franchising. A convenient medium of entry by foreign companies into the Indian market is franchising. After the repeal of FERA and the coming into force of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA), foreign investors found their passage into India with rules for entry becoming far more favourable. 5. Mergers and acquisitions: The firm can also adopt this strategy by acquiring the local established players as this would strengthen their distribution networks, the Indian market know-how and meeting the resource requirements.

CONCLUSION
The 1.22 billion population of India is undoubtedly a promising opportunity for an international company. Equipped with experience in operating and providing supreme services globally, Hardees will be triumphant in capturing and excelling in the Indian sub-continent. Hardees is a fast growing group of fast food chains and its entry into the growing and accepting Indian economy. Hardees is renowned for its quality, cleanliness, taste and superior services and the Indian market ready to accept such international brands, thereby stimulating its entry into the Indian market and assuring its success thereafter.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. www.franchise.org

2. www.franchisebusiness.in 3. www.wikipedia.com 4. www.hardees.com 5. 6. 7.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_policy_of_India http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/advertising/9521.html http://www.alliedacademies.org/Publications/Papers/JIACS%20Vol%2010%20No%201%202004 %20p%2075-81.pdf