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Panera

In: Business and Management

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Core values and corporate social responsibility are keys for long term success in any business. Planning, organizing and developing a corporate strategy while building a strong culture and spot on mission statement can also be thrown in the mix. Combine them into a way that cannot be easily copied or imitated by competitors, thus providing a competitive advantage that is recognized and benefits the customers as well as the organization, well now you have a recipe for success. Panera’s success is based upon those competitive advantages, such as providing high quality products at reasonable prices to its customers, consistent products, dependability, brand loyalty and offering a great casual dining experience. In addition, the culture plays a critical factor in the Panera family, meaning that employees share common values and beliefs. They are empowered by management which contributes to the team atmosphere. Such culture provides a competitive advantage for the company in terms of transferring satisfaction from the employee to the loyal customer.
Panera Bread was established in 1981 by Ron Shaich and as of September 2011 was operating 1,504 company-owned and franchised-operated bakery-cafes in 40 states and Ontario Canada. Originally known as Au bon Pain Company, a competitor was purchased in 1993, Saint Louis Bread, and the name was ultimately renamed Panera Bread in 1999. Their Mission was “A loaf of bread in every arm. Panera Bread’s success spread from East to West with another acquisition. In 2007, Paradise Bakery & Café, a Phoenix based bakery-café concept that added an additional 70 stores and 10 states (1).
The core competency of Panera Bread is the quality of its bread offerings. This is at the root of many of their strengths including the customer satisfaction and repeat customer loyalty. This combined with the conservatively operated

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