 
        Team 3 Rebecca Eggerman Alexander Johnson Miguel Lopez Hannah Stephens Carissa Tarnowski Company Background  Founders: John Mackey and Renee Lawson Hardy and Greg Weller and Mark Skiles  1980 Safer Way Natural Foods and Clarksville Natural Grocery merged creating Whole Foods Market  Merger established blue ocean and now Whole foods is the iconic brand for natural foods and practices  Grown to over 340 branches in the US, Canada, and the UK and is now a $11.7B company Mission Statement  The motto highlights their mission:  Whole foods: We obtain our products locally and from all over the world, often from small, uniquely dedicated food artisans.  Whole people: We recruit the best people we can to become part of our team. We empower them to make their own decisions, creating a respectful workplace where people are treated fairly and are highly motivated to succeed.  Whole Planet: We recognize the connection between our lives, our communities and the environment Core Values  Selling the highest quality natural and organic products available  Satisfying and delighting our customers  Supporting Team Member happiness and excellence  Creating wealth through profits and growth  Caring about our communities and our environment  Creating ongoing win-win partnerships with our suppliers  Promoting the health of our stakeholders through healthy eating education Competitive Strategy Analysis: Revenues  2008  $7,954 million  2009  $8.032 million  2010  $9,006 million  2011  $10,108 million  2012  $11,699 million Competitive Strategy Analysis: Product Differentiation  Price Premium  High Quality  Harris Interactive Study  82% said prices impacted grocery shopping  72% will continue to buy natural and organic foods Corporate Strategy Analysis: Pricing Strategy  Revamped  Value Offerings  Expanding Market Base with Lower Prices     The Whole Deal Virtual Value Tour Price Promotions Discounts  Expansion Corporate Strategy Analysis: Quality  High Quality  Strict Quality Standards  Foods free of artificial preservatives, colors, flavors, sweeteners, and hydrogenated fats  Foods that are fresh wholesome, and safe to eat  Seafood  Highest farmed seafood standards in the industry  First to offer Marine Stewardship Council certified seafood  Meat and Animal Welfare  5-Step™ Animal Welfare Rating Standards Financial  Whole Foods  4%  Kroger’s  1.5% SWOT Analysis  Strengths  Market Leader  Growth  Quality and Store Customization  No. 19 on Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies list  Weaknesses     Concentrated in US Relative Slow Growth Pricey Perception Limited number of suppliers  Opportunities  Expansion  Consumer Health Trends  Increasing number of US organic farmers  Threats  Supermarkets introducing organic products  Consumers downgrading  Increasing food prices and inflation Porter’s Five Forces  Potential Entrants  Low  Suppliers  Medium  Buyers  High  Industry Competitors  Medium  Substitutes  Medium Whole Foods’ Strategy: The Whole Foods Experience Case Study  Shopped at least twice a month  Toronto  WFM Customer  Affluent  Educated  White  Income  Varied, but generally much higher than the urban average Customer Values  Environmental Sustainability  Local or organic food  Labor Justice  Fair Trade  Community Building  Shopping at a local market to strengthen community relationships First Visit Experience  I was amazed. I loved it at first sight. They say, can you fall in love at first sight? Yeah, you can!  The pleasures and the special role in their daily routines of the WFM shopping experience  “Outing”, “Vacation”, or “A retreat from the mundane world of work and family responsibility” 10Xers What it is not  Is not the Fastest companies  Not the ones looking for the turbulent markets  Not the most innovative  The most radical changes What they are  The ones that know when to be fast and when to be slow.  They find what works and why  The stay consistent as possible to great as stable environment to grow The Blue Ocean  Cirque du Soleil  Didn’t compete with the big and established  They expanded the boarders of the market  They gleaned a new industry from the old one Fire Bullets then Cannonballs  Why build new stores in new locations when somebody else has done it for you?  Whole Foods acquired its main competitor  They have an established customer base  They know the local market and community Whole Foods Market’s Key Issues Three of their most obvious key issues in the media in 2013 consist of the following:    The consumer’s want for Non-GMO labeled products on all products that contain do not contain genetically modified organisms Whole Foods trying to expand into smaller areas with lower income populations to increase consumer base and have a larger number of store locations CEO John Mackey’s strong, radical, libertarian views and push for more “Conscious Capitalism” which could be hurtful to the company Options for Non-GMO labeling  Whole Foods has the option to either commit to labeling all of their Non-GMO products, which they have stated will take up to 5 years to complete with much research and investment costs, to provide customer satisfaction.  Whole Foods has the option to opt out of labeling all their Non-GMO products in order to be able to spend more money on new store locations and not have to deal with the disparagements from those who oppose the movement. Options for Store Expansion: Goal 1,000 in US  Whole Foods has the option to continue to expand into smaller and lower income areas in order to reach their goals of eventually having 1,000 stores in the U.S.  Whole Foods has the option to only locate their stores in their traditional wealthy, large income areas, which is where their business seems to thrive most. This will better ensure guaranteed success in new store locations. There could be a chance that this option may not provide the company with being able to have 1,000 stores in the United States. Options for CEO John Mackey’s Public Behavior  John Mackey can continue to be outspoken on his views of politics and business that will most likely ensure the business of people who believe in the same views as he does.  John Mackey can make the choice to become more reserved on publically speaking about his political views, which may ensure to keep more of his customers happy and not cause consumers with different views to protest or boycott Whole Foods. Whole Foods Market’s pledge to consumers “When Whole Foods Market fails to measure up to its stated Vision, as it inevitably will at times, we should not despair. Rather let us take up the challenge together to bring our reality closer to our vision.” Industry Analysis: Business and Economic Characteristics  Health conscious individuals  Increasing popularity worldwide  Rapidly growing industry  Creation of Blue Ocean  Competitor inspiration  Supply strain Industry Changes  Consumer demand increase  Supply shortage  Government involvement  WFM remaining profitable  Innovative company  Strategic adaptations Competitive Forces  “Rival digestion”  Acquiring various companies  Increasing market share  Relationship maintenance  Grape supplier in Chile  Strategy innovation  On the path to 10X Strong Competitors  Traditional Grocers  Walmart  Low prices  Similar products  Kroger’s  High quality products  Competitive prices Weak Competitors  Organic/natural grocers  Sprouts Farmer’s Market  Privately owned  Not a lot of expansion  Natural Grocer’s  Recently publically traded  Bland atmosphere  Regardless of competitive prices and quality Future Competitive Moves?  Build brand image  Focus more on core competencies  Increase advertising  Consider Endorsements  Extend relationships  Expand into more countries Keys to Competitive Success  Innovation  Core Competencies  Supplier Relationships  Expansion Further Industry Analysis  Highly volatile and increasingly competitive market  Many new entrants into the industry  Volatile prices in costs of food  Whole Foods is not a cost leader  Key factors  Strong growth strategy  Commitment to quality of goods Driving Forces for Change  New Paradigm for customers in America  New entrants into the marketplace  Labeling laws and regulations  Number of new entrants into the market  Genetically modified products  Number of customers  Customers seeking diet foods  New value on eating healthier  Additional labeling and regulations  New FDA regulations and labeling for GMOs  Foreign markets and expansion  Need for international presence Competition Issues  Lack of economies of scale  Need for expansion in the UK and Canada  Need for reduction in store space  Walmart and giants  Global supply chains  Competitive advantage Ambition of Whole Foods  Push for differentiation and value  Quality over cost  Reduction in stores that it is expanding in to  Growth won’t save the company  Use of lower ranged product line 365 organic Questions?
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