NAMECLASSPROFESSORMay 3, 2013
Sylacauga, Alabama is a small town located in East Central Alabama. The town has experienced continued growth over the years. The town has their own city school system as opposed to being a part of the larger Talladega County School System and has the only Wal-Mart and hospital in the southern portion of the county. Many of the services and businesses in Sylacauga also serve the smaller communities of Odena, Oak Grove, Childersburg, Alpine, Fayetteville, Kylmuga, and portions of Clay and Coosa counties. Any business, including Dominoes would need to take this wide area into consideration when considering opening a store. However, because many of these areas are not incorporated as a city, their demographic information is combined with the remainder of the unincorporated portions of Talladega County. Therefore, for the purpose of this analysis, the demographic information used will apply to the city limits of Sylacauga only.
The Sylacauga city limits cover a land area of 19.49 square miles("Sylacauga quick facts," 2013). This would be a wide delivery area for a dominoes location. If the company were able to find a location that provided the other needs in area and foot traffic near the location as well as a location that was close to the center of the city limits geographically then the longest deliveries would still be under 10 miles. This would allow them to keep their mileage rates as low as possible.
The city of Sylacauga has a population of 12,749 as of the 2010 census information("Sylacauga quick facts," 2013). The population is 30.17 percent African American and 66.57 percent white("Sylacauga quick facts," 2013). The remainder is a mix of American Indian, Asian, other races, or more than one race. The population is 45.39 percent male and 54.61 percent female("Sylacauga quick facts," 2013). Only 2.27 percent of the population identifies themselves as Hispanic in Sylacauga("Sylacauga quick facts," 2013). Sylacauga had a population growth of 1.05 percent from the 2000 census to the 2010 census("Sylacauga quick facts," 2013). Almost sixty percent of the population is between the ages of 18 and 64 years of age("Sylacauga quick facts," 2013). The median household income in Sylacauga is $34,591 which is lower than the $40,489 average for the state of Alabama as a whole("Sylacauga quick facts," 2013). However, this is up from the $29, 533 that it was in 2000("Sylacauga quick facts," 2013). This means that people in Sylacauga are making more money now that they were thirteen years ago, even though they are below the average for the state. The estimated per capita income is about $19,691("Sylacauga quick facts," 2013).
Another statistic that is important to Dominoes in considering opening a location in Sylacauga is the crime rate. Since the pizza delivery drivers are vulnerable while on deliveries, it is important to look at statistics for robbery, assault, theft, and murder. The crime rate for Sylacauga is actually higher than the national average("Fbi-table 8," 2010). While crimes increased from 2005-2009 in Sylacauga, they have dropped significantly since then even though they are still over the national average("Fbi-table 8," 2010). The town averages about one murder per year but the robbery numbers range from nine to twenty three during the time period from 2005-2011("Fbi-table 8," 2010). The murder and crime rate also do not reflect the number of missing persons that have not been recovered, whether dead or alive. Dominoes can combat the danger in the Sylacauga area by limiting the amount of cash that their drivers carry and limiting the deliveries to certain areas after a certain time. By not delivering to the Drew Court, Woodhill Apartments/Autumn Trace Apartments, or Main Street neighborhoods after a certain time, before dark, they may be able to decrease risk without losing a great number of customers("Fbi-table 8," 2010). That is because the average income in these areas is significantly lower, and the crime rate significantly higher than many of the other neighborhoods in Sylacauga.
This demographic information is important to Dominoes for two reasons. The first reason is that Dominoes understands who their target demographic is, the type of people that buy their product and they want to make sure that there are an adequate number of these people in Sylacauga. Second, it is important to make sure that not only does their target demographic live in Sylacauga but that they have the means, in terms of income, to buy the product, in this case, pizzas. There are not significant numbers of college students or any other specific small group like this for Dominoes to market to in Sylacauga but there are a number of churches and related organizations the Dominoes could attempt to build long term relationships with in the area. However, for the purpose of analysis, it will be considered that each person in Sylacauga will consume one pizza every two months. This will come out to one half of one pizza each month or six pizzas per year. If this is the case, the total sales would come to 6374.5 pizzas per month. If the average cost of a pizza were $10 the average sales per month would be over $63,745 per month. With the summer months approaching and children being out of school, it is reasonable to expect an average of 6374 pizzas per month for the next four months in Sylacauga. The assumptions are that there will be large orders during the summer months for parties and organizational gatherings as well as increased orders from teenagers out of school during the days.
Based on these statistics and analysis based on the assumptions, Dominoes would benefit from opening a store in the Sylacauga area. Since there will be a wider area that will be served than just the Sylacauga area it is safe to assume that the target sales goals will be met within the next four months and the longer term commitment that Dominoes will be making to the Sylacauga area. Dominoes should open the store as soon as possible to take full advantage of the possibilities that exist in the Southern Talladega county area.
References
Fbi-table 8. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010/tables/table-8/10tbl08al.xls
Sylacauga quick facts. (2013, March 14). Retrieved from http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/01/0174352.html
