...Whole Foods Market Paper two BA 311 Whole Foods Market passionately expresses its core values of high quality, natural and organic foods that come full circle in promoting sustainability and quality of life. The shopping experience at Whole Foods Market can be described as wholesome. It provides a friendly neighborhood environment through cheerful customer service and a positive staff of employees. These characteristics have allowed the company to set higher prices than its competitors because of the perceived value. Being able to find and maintain a competitive advantage requires a strong marketing mix consisting of product, price, place and promotion. The marketing mix provides the customers with a clear, distinct and desirable understanding of what the company does and why the product or service is preferable over its competitors (TEXT). The natural and organic food industry is growing with the number of competitors increasing, and to stay at a competitive advantage companies must match the needs of the customers in its target market with its products or services. Product Management Competitors within the natural and organic foods market offer differentiated selections of organic products to the consumers. As shown in the perceptual map, the Y-axis represents the selection of organic, ranging from a limited selection to an extensive selection. The X-axis represents the price of organics, ranging from low prices to high prices. The perceptual map shows the difference...
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...educated professionals with very disciplined lifestyle. Salubrious Cognizant Moms are very busy professionals but insisted on eating at home and cook their food to their taste and were conscious about ingredients in the food being consumed by their family. The culture-based characteristics of the Salubrious Cognizant Moms include moderate to high power distance with conservative behaviours. Among these families women usually makes grocery decision and checks the price, ingredients and nutrition value for everything they buy. Due to school going children in the family taste is of paramount importance. The members of Salubrious Cognizant Moms passionately demonstrate family orientation, health consciousness and will carry that in all walks of their lives from workplace to home. They are generally women but there are exceptions where male head of the family goes for groceries and makes buying decision. They have very high uncertainty avoidance values and are not comfortable with uncertainty they seek better value proposition with optimized price, value and nutrition values. Salubrious Cognizant Moms members are smart and realistic with long-term orientation values. Health foods skew to an older and/or more upscale audience. The 40-plus market has been described as a “growing segment of the population looking for healthy, low-cal foods.” With increasing age, calorie needs decrease for most men and women. Furthermore, this segment is the leading edge...
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...Case 13: Attention Shoppers: Executive Compensation at Kroger, Safeway, Costco, and Whole Foods. MGT 495 November 13, 2011 Case Discussion Questions: Retail grocery sales represent a significant portion of the U.S. economy. The industry was highly competitive, with companies operating on low gross and net margins. As a result, grocery stores were generally under significant pressure to reduce their operating costs in order to maintain profitability. For the last several decades, the grocery industry grew roughly in line with gross domestic product and was considered a mature industry. In order for companies to succeed, they needed to find effective strategies to steal customers from competitors. Many sought to differentiate themselves through store format, store location, product mix, ancillary services, or quality of customer service. Strategies, however, could easily be imitated by competitors, putting grocery store chains under constant pressure to innovate and remain efficient. In general, growth also required the expansion into new store locations. Companies that failed to grow often went bankrupt or were acquired. S.W.O.T: Kroger, Safeway, Costco, and Whole Foods Kroger: Strengths • Multiple formats and solid market share in major metropolitan areas • Shopper insights program • Well known regional brands • Developed private label and loyalty marketing programs • Pricing image • Very strong organic growth (i.e., comparable and identical store sales) ...
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...Summary of the Facts: i) Whole Foods was founded in Austin and it owns and operates a chain of natural and organic foods supermarkets through several wholly owned subsidiaries. The company’s supermarkets are located in the US, Canada and the UK. ii) While the product and brand selections varied from store to store, Whole Foods’ product line included some 30,000 natural, organic, and gourmet food products and non food items. (page 10 of 31; Whole Foods Market in 2008) iii) Number of stores increased considerably from 10 in 1991 to 276 in 2007. iv) They are the undisputed $ 4.7 b organic supermarket industry leader. Statement of the Problem: Whole Foods is facing the problem of higher prices of its organic foods resulting in to decline of sales, customers being attracted to other local retailers for the organic food and this is also resulting into the hindering of the brand loyalty of Whole Foods. Causes of the problem: 1) Whole Foods strategy is to give the best product to the customer and maintaining the quality of the organic foods resulting in the higher prices than conventional grocers. 2) Prices of organic foods are 25 – 75 % more costly to grow and market (page 12 of 31; Whole Foods Market in 2008). 3) Exotic offerings and product variety and assortments leading to higher prices. Example would be of Japanese egg plant, 40 different cheeses, and 20 different coffees. Possible Solutions: 1) Lower prices to compete with grocery stores...
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...Case #3: WHOLE FOODS Assignment Questions 1. What are the chief elements of the strategy that Whole Foods Market is pursuing? Growth Strategy Not only did Whole Foods open their own new stores, but acquired small chains that already had personnel and a good location. They began by acquiring smaller chains with smaller stores and started to acquire bigger stores. They also went international in 2004 by acquiring a company in London. The following graph displays the growth of the company in how many total Whole Foods stores were open by the end of each fiscal year. The significant increase in 2006-2007 is due to the acquisition of their biggest competitor, Wild Oats. Store Location Strategy This strategy entails looking into looking for potential markets to enter by the following criterias: education levels, population density, and income. After analyzing sales, profit, and cost, estimations are made for several possible sites. After narrowing the choices, the economic value added (EVA) is looked at for the best possible site. This is based off of their internal weighted-average cost of capital. To be approved, the cumulative EVA needs to be positive for the next five years or less. Whole Foods goes through an entire process to make sure that every store that is opened will have the greatest possibility of generating profit. Whole Foods focuses on high-traffic locations that were by upper real estate properties. Product Line...
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...The Whole Foods Case – Vision, Mission, & Strategy Chris Kourcklas, Jason Scibona, Kurt Hill, Rhett Edwards, Stephanie Houser, Trudy Schwartz Introduction Founded in 1980 by CEO John Mackey, The whole foods market evolved to become one of the largest natural and organic supermarket chains in the world. By 2010 Whole foods had 298 stores in 38 states including 6 in Canada and 5 in Great Britain. Whole Foods has maintained a positive growth every year, but how did Whole Foods achieve successful growth with competitors like Wal-Mart and Target knocking at the door. Mackey believed marketing organic foods would transform diets all around the world. He was determined to launch winning strategies, clear strategic visions and excellent structure of core values, which matched world market conditions. Winning Strategy Whole Foods Market’s strategic challenge is focused on overall company growth. Their vision is to have growth coming from customers, team members, investors, suppliers, sales, and giving to communities. Their strategy excels over their organic competitors, is adaptable in extreme economic conditions and continues to maintain their profitability. To be successful a company must have a winning strategy. A winning strategy focuses on three tests. These three tests include: The Competitive Advantage Test, The Fit Test, and The Performance Test. If all three tests pass Whole Food Market has a winning strategy. Zaridis (2009) noted that “competitive advantage...
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...Wild Oats is pursuing a market penetration strategy. Its private label brands areincreasing at a steady rate and many different retail channels are being employed toreach new consumers and increase brand awareness. Despite a troubled credit rating,the company will also open ten new stores and refurbish six existing sites this year.Prior to 2006, the company was focused on consolidation – a SKU rationalizationprogram to eliminate slow-moving products, the closure of 17 underperforming stores, afocus on increasing sales at existing stores, and a company-wide effort to increaseconsistency and controls. At this time, the company was striving to be the low-costdifferentiator in the health food space. This is evident in the claims that Wild Oatsoffered better products at better prices than Whole Foods, its top competitor.Currently, the organic/health food market serves a relatively small number of grocerybuyers. By streamlining processes, introducing more private label brands, investing inIT, and centralizing buying, merchandising, and pricing, Wild Oats is striving to attaincost leadership in its market. In other words, a focused low-cost approach is beingused. This is not an attractive position for Wild Oats because traditional grocers, withmore buying power and more efficient processes, are beginning to enter this high-growth market. Whole Foods, the market leader, has promised a pricing war to combatthe threat of Wild Oats expanding into its territory, pointing out that its company...
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...Europe's second most inhabited nation, it is the continent’s largest economy. The beverage and food industry in Germany can be described as committed to providing the very best, with a desire to embrace changing consumer needs and wants. In the last ten years, there has been a boom in the organic food segment with an explosion in sales. Germany stands prominently at the top of beverage and food market development as it works to embrace the international increased demand for healthier food. The demand exists in Europe and Germany is an established leader. Whole Foods Market has self-proclaimed themselves America’s healthiest grocery store. They attempt to find and provide customers the highest quality natural and organic foods by implementing a strict quality standards process. The very first Whole Foods Market originated in Austin, Texas in 1980 with the belief that the natural foods industry needed a supermarket foundation. Though it was a small location staffed by less than 20 people, the supermarket took off. Since then Whole Foods Market has become a leader retailer in natural and organic foods. It has hundreds of locations all over the world, with the majority in the United States. Its success has been depending on the multibillion dollar growing market for natural and organic foods that has rapidly grown since the company opened in 1980. The natural and organic foods market is incredibly attractive and is only continuously growing in attractiveness. There is no...
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...Ali DeLara Date: 01/06/13 Case Assignment #1 Does the Whole Food Market Strategy reflect their mission? The Whole Food Market (WFM) mission “Whole Food, Whole People, and Whole Planet” is made up of seven core values: selling the highest quality natural and organic products available; satisfying and delighting customers; supporting team member happiness and excellence; creating wealth through profits and growth; caring about the communities and the environment; creating ongoing win-win partnerships with suppliers; and promoting the health of their stakeholders through healthy eating education.(Thompson, Peteraf, Gamble, & Strickland. (2012)) WFM has developed strategies to fulfill each of the seven core values which make of their mission. Highest Quality Goods WFM’s product strategy is to provide customers with the highest quality natural and organic products available in the market. In order to achieve this goal they work with the suppliers and personally inspect the quality of each product before it placed in their stores. They also work with local and regional suppliers to ensure that their customers receive the freshest most seasonal products (Thompson et al., 2010). They will own purchase products from those suppliers who are dedicated to sustainable agriculture which are environmentally sound.( Thompson et al., 2010) Satisfying and Delighting Customers The pricing strategy is to provide the best prices for the highest quality natural and organic products. WFM...
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...Whole Foods Industry Analysis How well is Whole Foods’ present strategy working? (Bad：1 23 4 5：Well Preliminary answer: Whole Foods works five strategies now. Growth Strategy: Whole Foods had expanded via combination of opening its own new stores and acquired small, owner-managed chains that had capable personal and were located in desirable markets. Based on Wild Oats acquisition, management stated that Whole Foods growth strategy based on primarily opening new store rather than acquisition. Works: 2 Store Location Strategy: In March 2010, Whole Foods had 290 stores in 38 states; it planned to open an additional 9 stores by the end of fiscal year 2010, 17 new stores in 2011, 17 new stores in 2012. But economic had a recession in 2008~2009, this strategy did not work as planned. In fact, Whole Foods had its own internally developed model to analyze potential market to work this strategy. Works: 4 Product Line Strategy: Whole Foods product line included natural, organic, and gourmet food and nonfood item to satisfy all products requirement and customers’ needs. Works: 4 Pricing Strategy: this strategy aimed at selling products at competitive and valuable price. But based on Whole Foods products characteristics, and its high cost, most of Whole Foods products had premium prices. Works: 2 Merchandising Strategy: the driving concept of the strategy was to create an inviting and interactive store atmosphere that turned shopping for food from a chore into a fun...
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...Case Study: Whole Foods Market in 2010: Vision, Core Values and Strategy Jessica Shramek Hawaii Pacific Whole Foods began with one small store in Austin, Texas in 1980. “In 1978, twenty-five year old college dropout John Mackey and twenty-one year old Rene Lawson Hardy, borrowed $45,000 from family and friends to open the doors of a small natural foods store called SaferWay in Austin, Texas (the name being a spoof of Safeway, which operated stores under their own name in Austin at that time)” (Wholefoodsmarket.com). A few years later, Mackey and Lawson Hardy partnered with Craig Weller and Mark Skiles to merge SaferWay with Clarksville Natural Grocery, which resulted in the opening of the original Whole Foods Market on September 20, 1980. Beginning in 1984, Whole Foods Market began its expansion out of Austin, by continuing to open new stores from the ground up, and by acquiring other natural foods chains. The chief elements of the strategy that Whole Foods Market is pursuing are providing the best natural and organic foods to customers through retail grocery stores. “Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet” is the slogan and visionary statement John Mackey uses to describe his company and mission. Whole Foods sells products of the highest quality, least processed, most flavorful, naturally preserved, and the freshest foods available. When a product is labeled organic it has “to be grown and processed without the use of pesticides, antibiotics, hormones, synthetic chemicals...
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...obesity, it is important to follow a healthy diet and exercise lifestyle. Unfortunately, this healthy diet food is under attack by use of GMO, pesticides, hormone additives, antibiotics, and other chemicals which are harmful to the body and cause other health problems. Zerbe (2010) reported that the President’s Cancer Panel is now urging people to eat foods grown without such harmful chemicals; organic foods. Due to such health concerns, organic food markets are slowly gaining popularity again as consumer demand is rising. This is great news not just for the consumers, but also the local organic farmer stands, e-commerce organic product sites and stores like the Whole Foods Market. In fact, this research will present the Whole Foods Market, Inc. strategic analysis. This analysis is being conducted to provide advice on how to integrate Whole Foods into ABC Company. It will cover the first step in the strategic planning process which is Whole Foods Market’s mission, vision and values; followed by presenting company’s Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threat (SWOT) analysis. This research will further discuss competition within the industry by conducting the Porter’s Five Forces Analysis and describe Whole Foods Market’s strategic position. Based on this analysis, I will provide my recommendation for the integration of Whole Foods into ABC Company. Whole Food...
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...Whole Foods Student 1 Response to Discussion Question 3.1 Pertinent Management Issues The pertinent management issues of Whole Foods Market is to ensure the organization maintains its competitive advantage despite the economy. As discussed in the case study, the decline in the economy had negative impacts on the growth and competitive advantage of the organization. Leaders in Whole Foods Market should continue to focus on their current strategy and examine ways to maintain their competitive advantage. Analysis and Evaluation Five Forces Model: According to Thompson, Strickland, and Gamble (2012), the strategy of Whole Foods Market best aligns with a focused differentiation strategy. A focused differentiation strategy is “concentrating on a narrow buyer segment and outcompeting rivals with a product offering that meets the specific tastes and requirements of niche members better than the product offerings of rivals” (Thompson et al., 2012, p. 136). More simply put, the strategy of Whole Foods Market is a focus on a narrow buyer segment offering unique, differentiated products. Market Target: A focused differentiation strategy aims at securing a competitive advantage with a product designed to appeal to a specific group of buyers (Thompson et al., 2012). The specific group of buyers Whole Foods Market works to satisfy are those who have particular interest in natural and organic foods. Whole Foods Market has a strategy that will “help support the health, well-being, and...
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...all respects confidential in nature, other than information which is in the public domain through other means and that any disclosure or use of same by reader may cause serious harm or damage to Organic Mystique. Upon request, this document is to be immediately returned to MGT/401 Team C. ___________________ Signature ___________________ Name (typed or printed) ___________________ Date This is a business plan. It does not imply an offering of securities. 1.0 Executive Summary 1 1.1 Objectives 1 1.2 Mission 2 1.3 Keys to Success 2 2.0 Company Summary 2 2.1 Company Ownership 2 2.2 Start-up Summary 2 Table: Start-up 3 3.0 Products 3 4.0 Market Analysis Summary 3 4.1 Market Segmentation 4 4.2 Target Market Segment Strategy 4 4.3 Industry Analysis 5 4.4 Globalization 6 5.0 Management Team Summary 6 References 1 Appendix A 2 1.0 Executive Summary Organic Mystique is an e-commerce business located in Sacramento, CA. This web-based business will sell organic products of various types. The purpose of this plan is to gain interest of the company by consumers. The Concept Recognizing the organic market is on the rise, Organic Mystique will become the e-commerce market leader in sales and marketing of organic products to those who want to help the environment. We have four keys to success. First, providing top-notch customer service to all who shop on our website. The second key is to appeal to those with environmental...
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...Kudler Fine Foods Market Structure Analysis ECO 365 In reviewing Kudler Fine Foods marketing strategy and surveys for the past 2 years, amongst other information, Kudler Fine Foods appears to be a strong competitor in their specific market. Kudler is an organization that was founded on the idea that customers should be able to purchase the best of the best cooking products at an affordable price. Since the companies’ conception, Kudler has been growing and expanding to meet customers ever changing needs. This analysis is intended to review factual information about Kudler and their customers, and offer suggestions of improvement, for the executive staff to make decisions upon. After reviewing the strategic plan for Kudler Fine Foods, there are three area of focus they intend to incorporate into the organization. The first being an expansion of services. Kudler is seeking to offer customers the whole cooking experience, starting with a prime selection of food products, and ending with how-to learning from top chef’s both locally and internationally, on the best methods of how to prepare and produce an elegant high end meal. Offering customers quick classes for kitchen know how is a huge benefit and will likely add to the experience and loyalty of Kudler Shopping. The downfall to this is the expense it could potentially cost the organization to pay these world-renowned chef’s for their time, as well as the cost of the prizes that are being talked about for customers who bring...
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