Is Whole Foods’ strategy well matched to market conditions in the food retailing industry (one of the criteria for a winning strategy discussed in Chapter 1)? Yes the Whole Foods strategy has worked well for the company. They have good products and show good employees who also have shares in the company. They do not have much competition only on smaller scales or small areas in existing regular food markets. The company is still expanding even in this poor market and acquiring new stores and companies.
Expanding franchises in countries where they already have proven success is a more cookie cutter approach in markets like Canada, Mexico, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The growth path model developed by Ruth’s Chris can guide them when opening these new locations in already existing markets by using the same methodology already shown to be efficient and profitable in those same areas. This option is a safer approach that could pose saturation risks and slower growth as restaurants already exist. Expanding to a new foreign market can also pose risks; however there are other types of ownership or entry methods that can be considered to increase opportunity like joint ventures or foreign direct investing. This opens up opportunities for larger surges of capital.
Finally I will focus on the current staff crisis and clarify to you that these stakeholders (members of staff) have a vested interest in the activities of your business and will produce stronger performances if they are motivated and not subjugated into feeling like they are just another cog in the wheel. (Caan, 2013) Word count 181 Part (b) Sociological - The demographic of consumers tends to be that of the older generation with lower spending behaviour, especially during the recession. You need to think about attracting a more affluent and younger clientele. Technological - You do not appear to have a website. You have computerized the accounts however, a web presence would allow merchandise sales, affiliation links, online customer interaction and special offers.
Although they might crave an affordable price, it is important to still be exposed to stylish, unique choices. Luckily, there are major retailers that cater to both types of customers, and Walmart and Target are just two of them. The United States mass-market is dominated by many firms, but Walmart and Target are two extremely well-known retailers who cater to the ever-changing crowds of consumers. Each major retailer has differentiated themselves in a number of ways, targeting different groups and finding their own unique niches. They both participate in giving back, they both take corporate social responsibility seriously, and both make their store experiences memorable.
Does one rival have a somewhat weaker strategy than the other two? • No, Costco, Sam’s, and BJ’s Wholesale do not have the highly similar strategies. All of there are different in many ways, Costco prefer to offer their customers items in bulk and reasonable prices. By doing that Costco believe they could generate more customers because they are providing more products at a discounted price so the customers would feel like they are getting more for their money. BJ’s strategy focuses on providing their shoppers more groceries and packaged goods in small portions.
If people see the adverts on TV, people want to know how much these products cost and if the product is good and cheap than it can attract customers to the business and to the products. Big businesses like Tesco need to have cheap prices so that they can beat their
This does not take into account what was received from new purchases. So the value of this program from the financial aspect revolves around what is invested in it. Kudler Fine Foods investments in its program should produce similar results (JPS Retailer & FSB, 2009). Although this program is fairly new to the frequent shopper program this venture should prove fruit full. With the quality products and services provided to the customers of Kudler Fine Foods this program promises success.
To keep their passion for the company offers their employees flexible schedules, benefits and profit sharing, just to name a few. Focusing on serving special needs and tastes – Whole Foods sells natural and organic food products which represents a small percentage of the entire U.S. grocery store sales (less than 8%). This is a niche market that is growing rapidly. To expand their growth they felt this should be done via several small acquisitions in order to breakthrough those desirable markets they are after. 2.
Many customer service experts will argue that customers do not mind paying more for goods if they know they will always receive excellent customer service. Customer service is also important to an organization because it can help differentiate a company from its competitors, according to the article titled "The Importance of Customer Service" at Drew Stevens Consulting website. For example, it may be difficult to tell the difference between two small-town drug stores, especially if their prices are similar. Therefore, putting extra efforts into customer service may be thing that gives one drug store a competitive advantage. 2.
According to Pearce and Robinson (2011) by thoroughly developing and exploiting its expertise in a narrowly defined competitive arena, the company achieves superiority over competitors that try to master a greater number of product and market combinations. As stated in their Declaration of Interdependence: “Whole Foods Market is a dynamic leader in the quality food business. We are a mission-driven company that aims to set the standards of excellence for food retailers. We continually experiment and innovate in order to raise our retail standards”(Whole Foods Market, 2012). Through identified niche markets, WFM can leverage some of their customary strong points by recognizing innovated uses for current goods using market penetration.