Panera Bread Company

890 Words4 Pages
Panera bread company Panera Bread’s strategy is “to provide a premium specialty bakery and café experience to urban workers and suburban dwellers.” This strategy is most closely aligned with a broad differentiation strategy, or being unique in ways that a broad range of consumers find appealing. Prior to taking the Panera concept nationwide, the owners performed cross-country market research and concluded that consumers could get excited about a quick, high quality dining experience. The concept is a mix between fast food and casual dining, or fast casual. By choosing this strategy, Panera is attempting to achieve competitive advantage in the unique offerings it provides, offerings that rivals don’t have and can’t afford to match. In this case, delicious handcrafted bread arriving fresh daily, served in an inviting atmosphere is the company’s competitive advantage and core competency. SWOT Analysis Strengths - Repeat customers, learning curve, word-of-mouth, fresh, quality food, rapid market penetration, economies of scale, customer service, good atmosphere Weaknesses - leased land, off-site dough preparation and delivery, many untapped markets, no sustainable competitive advantage, unclear strategic direction, unfavorable financial trends Opportunities – catering, national focus on health, dinner crowd, global sales Threats – bad economy, high gas prices, highly competitive industry Panera Bread’s closest rivals include: Atlanta Bread Company, Au Bon Pain, Chipotle, and Starbucks. These restaurants are also in the fast-casual dining segment of the industry. Like Starbucks, Panera Bread hopes to convey a casual, friendly atmosphere for people to “chill out” and enjoy the Wi-Fi and good times with friends. While these are the closest rivals, Panera must also compete with casual dining restaurants, fast- food places and any number of

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