... Whole Foods Market in 2010: Vision, Core Values, and Strategy Introduction Whole Food Markets by 2006 became the world’s largest retail chain of natural and organic foods supermarkets. By 2010 Whole Foods consisted of 290 stores in 38 states, 6 stores in Canada, and 5 in Great Britain. With 90 stores that are 40,000sqaure feet or larger. John Mackey, the CEO believed the rapid growth and market success were due to “remain a uniquely mission-driven company-highly selective about what we sell, dedicated to our core values and stringent standards and committed to sustainable agriculture.” Whole Foods company’s motto- “Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet” the statement alone assumes its core mission is beyond food retail it’s about our world/environment we live in. According to hoover.com, Whole Foods planned to reach $12 billion in sales by 2010 by adding 25-30 new stores a year. Due to competition and “the economy has slowed the company’s sales growth, it increased by only 1% in fiscal 2009 vs. 2008 to about $8 billion.” The stores emphasize perishable products, which account for about two-thirds of sales. Whole Foods Market offers some 2,200 items in four lines of private-label products (such as the premium Whole Foods line). Founded in Austin, Texas, in 1980, Whole Foods Market initiated the supermarket concept in natural and organic foods retailing. Identification of key problems/strategic issues * From 1992-2007 Whole Foods acquired 10 competitors...
Words: 3464 - Pages: 14
...Whole Foods Michael K. Cooper Sr Principles of Organizational B– Business 322 Professor Christopher McGrath July 27, 2011 Whole Foods 2 Abstract In this paper I’ll discuss interpersonal communication, defensive communication and how it transforms the way people communicate. How we communicate in most cases makes up what other people think and observe of us. Poor communication often is the main problem in a troubled relationship, both professional and personal. To better understand communication a person must acknowledge many different aspects, including speech, body language, and context. Context, the time, place, or occasion when communication is encoded, has a very large role in transmitting a message. Without the right context, a message could be perceived as the opposite as it was intended. The best way to begin to understand the communication process is to understand the interactive communication model. First, there is a sender who encodes a message to the receiver. Noise interfering with the communication of a message is called a channel. The receiver then decodes this message depending on the context of the situation, and the speaker’s credibility. I will also discuss the ethical behavior of Mr. John Mackey CEO of Whole Foods Market. Whole Foods 3 Discuss how the basic interpersonal communication model that is presented in Figure 8.1 can be applied to the impersonal nature of an online forum. Interpersonal...
Words: 1248 - Pages: 5
...Unit II Assignment Whole Foods Market’s emphasise that the employee stakeholder leads to overall well-being. “He (Mackey, Owner, Whole Foods Markets) believes, however, that companies that behave ethically and strive to satisfy the needs of customers and employees simultaneously satisfy the needs of investors because high profits are the result of loyal customers and committed employees” ( Jones & George, 2014, p. 111). When a company has an emphasis early on its employees and making an effort to provide a good working environment the positive effect of happy customers regardless of prices and on to stakeholders is almost seamless. “Stakeholders in order of priority, at Whole Foods Markets are customers, team members, investors, suppliers, the community and the natural environment (Jones & George, 2014). Mackey’s belief in the wellbeing of other people him to measure the success of Whole Foods by the satisfaction of its stakeholders. Exercising missions such as helping employees become Whole People through individual growth programs and uniquely allowing each team member to explore customer service; thus making customers and employees a priority. “Customers are regarded the most critical stakeholder group because is a company cannot attract them to buy their products it cannot stay in business” (Jones & George, 2014). Customer service is the number one determinate in keeping a customer. Putting employees in places of empowerment helps emphasis more on that...
Words: 340 - Pages: 2
...Introduction Whole Foods Market allows their team to make their own decisions at the same times creating an environment where people are treated with respect and are highly motivated to excel. Whole Foods mentor their employee through education and on-the-job experience. This will able them to fill a majority of leadership roles from the current team member base. There is several training programs that is provide to bring those new leaders into the company. Whole Foods divides the employees into “teams” which are group by departments. It teams goal is to ensure the daily operations are run professional and profitable. The store has several different departments like Seafood, whole body, produce, specialty, Bakery, customer service, facilities, floral, meat, prepared food and grocery. Base on the information provide these are the job title: 1. Job A – Customer Service Clerk 2. Job B – Customer Service, Cashier 3. Job C – Prepared Food Leader 4. Job D – Prepared Foods Specialized Team Member, Night Supervisor 5. Job E – Store Team lead 6. Job F-Grocery Team Supervisor 7. Job G- Prepared Foods Associate Team Leader 8. Job H-Associate Store Team Leader 9. Job I-Grocery Store Team Member Process, Techniques, and Factors Job classification method is the best one to use when determining the actual job title of the each team employee that will evenly engaged to the structure of the teams and which teams the individual members report to. With...
Words: 1458 - Pages: 6
...Chapter 8 Case: Whole Foods Vanessa R Brown Michael Finn Organizational Behavior Janurary 29th, 2011 Discuss how the basic interpersonal communication model that is presented in Figure 8.1 can be applied to the impersonal nature of an online forum. First interpersonal communication is communication between two or more people in an organization. In figure 8.1 the message contains the thoughts and feelings of the sender in which he or she hopes to evoke in ther receiver. The primary components of the message is contained in the words, ideas, symbols, and concepts chosen to relay the message. The feedback may or may not be activated in the model. Feedback occurs when the receiver provides the communicator with a response to the message. Also, feedback occurs when information is fed back to the sender that completes two-way communication. However, basic interpersonal communication can be applied to the impersonal nature of an online forum. It can be applied by using computer mediated communication to send messages throughout an organization. The delivery of the message and how it is perceived from the receiver will depend on the response to the message. You can set up meetings and conferences when everyone is in different locations, particularly sales jobs involving travel. It can also be used by managers to communicate with there employees when away from the office or to just simply provide information or update on company status. How does defensive communication enter...
Words: 662 - Pages: 3
...Whole Foods Market Spring Semester 2012 Introduction Since 1980, Whole Foods Market has pioneered the organic and natural foods movement. All products meet Whole Foods Market’s strict quality standards to ensure they are free of artificial additives, sweeteners, colorings, preservatives and hydrogenated fats. Whole Foods market was founded in 1978 and is based in Austin, Texas. Founder and chairman of this company is John Mackey. The company has also some subsidiaries companies Allegro Coffee company, Pigeon Cove, Seafood processing facility, Select Fish, West Coast seafood processing facility and Produce Field Inspection Office. Current situation Whole Foods Market offers produce, seafood, grocery, meat and poultry, bakery, prepared foods and catering, specialty (beer, wine and cheese), whole body (nutritional supplements, vitamins, body care and educational products), floral, pet products and household products. Whole Foods Market operates over 270 stores in North America and the United Kingdom and employees over 54000 associates. The stores emphasize perishable products, which account for about 75% of sales. The company offers more than 15000 items in four lines of private label products. Also since 2007 whole foods market merged with wild oats markets based in boulder, Colorado. Mission The mission of the company are three phrases “whole food-whole people-whole planet” which means that if you cover these...
Words: 2630 - Pages: 11
...Organizational Goals and Objectives Whole food presents a “Declaration of Independence,” (the combined single mission statement) as follows: Our motto — Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet — emphasizes that our vision reaches far beyond just being a food retailer. Our success in fulfilling our vision is measured by customer satisfaction, Team Member excellence and happiness, return on capital investment, improvement in the state of the environment, and local and larger community support. Our ability to instill a clear sense of interdependence among our various stakeholders (those who are interested and benefit from the success of our company) is contingent upon our efforts to communicate more often, more openly, and more compassionately. Better communication equals better understanding and more trust. Whole foods clearly has instilled in its core values the importance of having a balance within their stakeholders which makes whole foods have a inviting nature for all parties involved. Subsequently, the Whole Foods mission statement satisfies the needs of all stakeholders. Although, whole foods does pride that their costumer is their more valued stakeholder. Our customers are the most important stakeholder in our business. Therefore, we go to extraordinary lengths to satisfy and delight our customers. We want to meet or exceed their expectations on every shopping trip. We know that by doing so we turn customers into advocates for whole foods. We guarantee our customers 100%...
Words: 3349 - Pages: 14
...Strayer University Course: Bus 599 Prof: Elile Awa 01/20/2012 Title: Whole Foods Market Assignment 2 John-Miguel Onkony Discuss the trends in retailing of organic foods and the impact of these trends on Whole Foods Market? Fresh produce was the most popular organic product on the market and biggest its sellers were lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, carrots, and apples. Meat, dairy, bread, and snack foods were among the increasing popular organic product categories too. The Supermarket chains like Wal-Mart and Safeway had created nonperishable organic and health food sections in most of their stores. Whole Foods struggled to find organic beef and chicken suppliers large enough to supply its entire store and several factors transformed organic foods retailing into the top-growing segment of U.S. food sales. First of all, the people were becoming better educated about foods, nutrition, and the eating became a healthy habits. Second, there was an increasing number of consumer concerns about the purity and safety of food due to the presence of pesticides, growth hormones, artificial ingredients, chemicals, and genetically engineered ingredients. Third, there was a health consciousness trend among people of various ethnic groups, and a belief that organic farming had positive environmental effects. The higher the price...
Words: 2050 - Pages: 9
...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...
Words: 1733 - Pages: 7
...I. Executive Summary This paper is about “The Wholesomeness of Whole Foods Market”. Whole Foods is the leading grocery store brand for natural and organic grown produce. They are constantly competing against non-organic grocery carriers such as Wal-Mart, Safeway, Kroger, Publix, Winn-Dixies and other local or domestic produce stores such as Jewel-Osco, Dominick’s, Pathmark, Shoprite, etc. Their marketing strategies are based on selecting the highest quality products from local producers/farmers and promoting its products both in store and on-line while providing a unique shopping experience for their consumers. They targets consumers who desire products which are organic and wholesome. They often target areas with students and middle or higher class income people. This paper shows what specific marketing trends of 2012 Whole Foods should focus on, such as Live a Little, Screened Interactions and The World has gone App crazy. Live a little is a marketing trend where consumers spend money rather than saving. Therefore, consumer will pay a higher price for healthy and flavorful products with no pesticides. Screened interactions is a marketing trend where Whole Foods should have touch screens with all their products information at the beginning of each isles involving which products are offered in this isle. Consumers can use these touch screens to either order or see what the products contain, such as amount of calories and nutrients. The world has gone app crazy trend...
Words: 2976 - Pages: 12
...Whole Foods Market Strategic Management Table of Contents Introduction…………………………………………………………………….…….p. 3 Trends in the Organic Foods and the Impact on Whole Foods…………………........p. 3 Application of Porter’s 5 Forces Model………..…………………………….............p. 4 Most Significant Environmental Threat and Whole Foods Combat ………………...p. 6 SWOT Analysis….…………………………………………..………………........…p. 7 Sustaining Competitive Advantage...…………………………………...….………..p. 8 Summary….………………………………………………………….………..…….p. 8 References.…………………………………………………………..……………....p. 10 Whole Foods Market Introduction John Mackey cofounder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) founded Whole Foods in 1980 with the purpose of providing organic foods to the grocery shopping public. This started a movement over the next 30 years that has brought organic foods to the common shoppers in many markets around the U.S. that had only been previously serviced by smaller health food stores or by their local grocery chain. The success of Whole Foods moving forward will be how they can succeed and maintain their profitability when unemployment remains high and Americans have less disposable income. This essay will look at several factors of Whole Foods, including latest trends, the competitive environment in the grocery industry, environmental threats, SWOT analysis of the business operations and strengths that must be leveraged to maintain a competitive advantage. Trends in the Organic Foods...
Words: 1998 - Pages: 8
...#1 ' Whole Foods Market Whole Foods are most relevant to a demographic general environment segment. Whole Foods does extensive research on their demographic when choosing where to locate its stores and who to market their company towards. Whole Foods enters markets where the demographic is 40 percent or more educated with a college degree, they locate stores in top statistical metropolitan area, and areas with a high population density. Whole Foods main opportunity is that they have the upward hand on a niche market. They also have private label brands to help bring in more net income for the company. Their main threats are that the organic food market can be very unstable. There is such an increased demand for organic products and there is only limited supply. Organic food is in short supply because organic food only accounts for roughly three percent of U.S. farmland usage, according to the article. This could mean that Whole Foods biggest threat is their own niche market. When dealing with organic foods there is in assurance that quality natural and organic products will be available to meet our future needs, according to the Whole Foods Article. Porter's Five Forces of Competition includes the following: Threat of New Entrants: Barriers to Entry, Bargaining Power of Suppliers, Bargaining Power of Buyers, Threat of Substitute Products, and Intensity of Rivalry Among Competitors. Threat of New Entrants: Barriers to Entry could be a tricky force with Whole Foods. When...
Words: 324 - Pages: 2
...Whole Foods 365 An analysis of Whole Foods 365’s target market and probability of success in Las Vegas. By Justin Thornley Abstract This report will define Whole Foods 365’s target market. It will then describe that target market. Then the report will make an effort to analyze Whole Food 365’s ability to compete in the Southern Nevada market. Finally, we will look at its competitors and determine if a Whole Foods 365 would be successful. Primary Target Market To find Whole Food 365’s primary target market we will look at the locations of the stores that Whole Foods plans to open. We will then look at the demographics of those areas. The Whole Foods 365 website lists 3 locations with plans to open a stores at each location in 2016. The three stores are located in Los Angeles, CA, Lake Oswego, OR, and Bellevue Square, WA (1). In addition to the city names that the website listed addresses were also provided. * 2520 Glendale Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90039 * 11 S State St Lake Oswego, OR 97034 * 300 Bellevue Square Bellevue, WA 98004 Using the addresses above we can learn more about the demographics and markets Whole Foods 365 hopes to cater to. To do this, the Nielson lifestyle segmentation system will be used. This system allows users to input zip codes and receive demographic information about that area, including information about lifestyle and shopping habits. After analyzing the zip codes from the three stores I found some common demographic themes...
Words: 1691 - Pages: 7
...remember my family shopping between two competing health food stores called Sun Harvest Meadows and this little market in a strip mall on South Lamar Blvd called Whole Foods. My earliest memories were of Sun Harvests was their decent food selection but dreary appearance and poor customer service compared to Whole Foods trendy style and outgoing staff. Crafted in Austin where the city’s motto is “Keep Austin Weird,” there’s no surprise that Whole Foods would adopt the trendy feeling that the city’s vibe carries and become successful in a town where people both value their personal health as well as the health of the environment before “going green” became a popular trend. Since my gaining my lasting first impression of their first store the early 1980’s, I’ve had the ability to watch my neighborhood grocer grow into a successful distributor of natural foods to a global customer base. Becoming this successful was not by chance but the product of a leader with a sound vision, a mission statement that was more than just eye fodder and a culture that married the elements of uniqueness, respect, vision, and responsibility. When crafting the strategic road map for this company, John Mackey, cofounder and CEO of Whole Foods started with the goal in mind but had to create the running rules to march towards that future state. To help guide the company’s direction, they created the core values which are still in place today. Whole Food’s core values are: Selling the Highest Quality...
Words: 1952 - Pages: 8
...Whole Foods markets are the world’s leader in natural and organic foods with stores in North America and United Kingdom .Their mission is Whole Foods-Whole People- Whole Planet. Whole Food stands for searching for the highest quality and natural foods possible. Whole People mean that the people their hire are passionate about healthy food. Whole Planet means they are committed to helping take care of the world around us. McGregor’s Theory Y is one of the two theories contrasting assumptions about human nature. Theory X assumptions were negative and pessimistic; McGregor felt this was the typical behavior of how managers were perceived by employees. Theory Y was a modern and positive set of assumptions about people. McGregor believed that managers could accomplish more through others by viewing themselves as self-energized committed, responsible and creative beings (Kreitner & Kinicki, p9). McGregor’s Theory Y plays a very important role at Whole Foods. In the table on page 9 number 3 under the Theory Y column states that people generally become committed to organizational objectives if there are rewarded for doing so .John Mackey the CEO of Whole Foods states that they want their employees to be happy because happy employees make happy customers and happy customers will refer people to the place of business there for bringing more customers (Kreitner & Kinicki, p30). This case brings the profile of the 21st century manager to life by implementing many if not all of the items...
Words: 555 - Pages: 3
