Q4-Explain the role of Express Retail Group in relation to Buddy Valastro's business. Which one of the 4 P's is Express Retail focused on? Explain your reason for choosing this P.
Cake Boss fans lining up for 59 slices from three Toronto vending machines Who wants to eat some cake? You, apparently. And from a vending machine, no less. Refrigerated slices from ICarlo's Bake Shop, a New Jersey bakery made famous by owner Buddy Valastro Jr. on T'v's "Cake Boss," went on sale this week at a trio of automated dispensers in the downtown PATH. The so-called cake ATl'vls can barely keep up with demand. Each machine holds 150 slices, which sell for $8.99 each. All three machines in the food courts of Waterpark Place, the Royal Bank Piaza and Richmond-Adelaide Centre have been selling out by 2 pm. Snack bars and supermarkets in the area typically charge $5.99 for an individually packaged slice of cake or pie. Each weekday, Carlo's ships product from Hoboken to Toronto. There are four choices: chocolate, carrot, red velvet, and rainbow. Customers cite everything from impulse to fandom for why they line up at the Waterpark Place machine. One chose a rainbow slice for her boyfriend's son, who recently came out. Others had made the pilgrimage to Carlo's shop to see the Cake Boss. \"Sam ebody asked if Buddy was actually in the back of the machine,\" said Chris Zownir, coaowner of Express Retail Group, the company that approached Valastro with the idea. The machines are painted the same dark red as lEarlo's storefront. Valastro catch phrases such as "Hoboken style, baby\" and "Who wants to eat some cake?" decorate the machines, which will soon stock 6-inch cakes to sell for $39.99 to 544.99. The cakes will now be restocked twice daily. But are they any good? Even before you crack open the clear plastic clamshell, you notice the layer cakes look nothing at all like the Cake Boss's fondant extravaganzas. Valastro is famed for creating three-dimensional city skylines, sea creatures and racing cars. The vending machine slices resemble supermarket cakes with minimal decoration. Carrot cake is crumbly and nutty, with muted cinnamon and restrained sugar. The cream cheese icing on the sides and top is thick enough to chew. Compare that to the red velvet ca ke, whose cream cheese icing is floier and tangier, like yogurt. 'Fhe icing dominates, throwing the bright red cake into shadow. Chocolate cake is dense and bittersweet but soon turns into paste on the teeth. It's a shame the strong cocoa flavour is let down by the texture and by the generic icing. Rainbow cake, with its six lnstagrammahie layers, looks sweet enough to hurt your teeth. And it does. Plus, the sprinkles are soggy. Don't wave the flag over this one. But not every cake pleasure stems from the eating. Witness the social connections fostered in the Carla's Bake Shop lineup at Waterpa rk Place yesterday. \"I want someone to share a slice with me,\" said 'v'ivek Padigela. 1il'ik Chala, standing in front of him, volunteered. The two strangers each bought a slice rainbow and red velvet then split them. Toronto style, baby. Adoptedom: Fatah. Amy. \"Coke Banjul-mining unfair-$9 scesfrom three Toronto vending motions-sf thestarcam. Nov 1, 2019. Web. 26 Nov 2021
