Research Proposal on "Company Whole Foods Market"
Research Proposal 4 pages (1433 words) Sources: 4 Style: MLA
[EXCERPT] . . . .
Whole Foods Case StudyWhole Foods SWOT and Five Forces Analysis
Whole Foods is one of the world's leading retailers of organic and natural foods and related products. The company owns 276 retail stores, located throughout the UK, Canada and the U.S. with the average store size being 34,000 feet. The company organizes its key commodities businesses into subsidiaries, specifically for produce (Produce Field Inspection office), coffee (Allegro Coffee Company), fish, (Select Fish) and Pigeon Cove (a seafood processing facility Whole Foods operates in Gloucester, MA). Whole Foods was founded in 1980 in Austin, Texas by John Mackey and Renee Lawson Hardy, owners of the Safer Way Natural Foods. Mark Skiles and Craig Weller also were partners, owners of Clarksville Natural Grocery. The two companies merged and grew rapidly through a continual addition of stores. The company's mission is to bring the highest quality, healthiest natural foods to consumers pursuing a healthy lifestyle, concentrating on high quality standards that their supply chain partners need to meet on a consistent basis. Whole Foods has grown primarily through acquisitions, starting with the acquisition of Bluebonnet Natural Foods Grocery in Dallas, Texas during 1986. Additional acquisitions include Whole Food Company in 1988, Wellspring Grocery in North Carolina in 1991. In 1992, Whole Foods went public, which gave them additional capital to continue growing through mergers and acquisitions. Additional acquisitions included Sourdough, Mrs. Gooch's Natural Foods, Bread of Life, Pigeon Cove, Amrion, Allegro, and Merchant of Vino stores. Coincident with these acquisitions the company expanded into the U.K. with a fl
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SWOT Analysis
SWOT Table
Strengths:
Exceptionally strong revenue growth
Highly Focused growth strategy
Broad sourcing and product portfolio
Proven ability to quickly acquire and integrated new companies into the overall corporation
Weaknesses:
Tepid international growth
Overly-conservative international policy
Rapidly increasing rental expenses
Low Employee Efficiency relative to industry average: Revenue per Employee = $138K versus Industry Average of $309K
Opportunities:
Exceptionally strong demand for organic products
Expansion in the UK
Growth in private label products
Media Coverage Favoring organic Products
Threats:
Increasing global competition
Legality of Labeling and regulations
Recession in the U.S.
Consolidating Supply Chain is favoring Mass Merchandisers
SWOT Discussion
Whole Food's strengths begin with their ability to quickly integrate new acquisitions into their existing company both at the process and system level has led to the company being able to achieve exceptionally strong revenue growth over time. The senior management team has specifically focused on acquisitions that further their unique value proposition. The combined effects of these factors have also given the company strong sourcing and a product portfolio that is a competitive advantage today.
Weaknesses that Whole Foods is facing are a combination of broader economic factors and internal inefficiencies. The company has had tepid, weak economic growth due to the overly-conservative strategies relied on for attempting to penetrate the UK and Canadian markets, the risk aversion of the company has also led to slow, unsteady growth in the large flagship store in London, a market know for demand of natural food products (Crisostomo, 12-13). Internally the company has very low employee efficiency, with revenue per employee of $138K versus an industry average of $309K.
Whole Foods has significant opportunity globally however due to strong demand for organic products. Turning around the slow growth in the UK would provide the company with exceptional retail growth opportunities as well. The broader growth of private label food foods shows significant potential for Whole Foods, one of the best opportunities they have. Finally, global media coverage of organic products is acting as a market catalyst of growth (Lambert, 22, 23, 24).
The threats Whole Foods faces include the deepening recession in the U.S., the continuing challenges of labeling and the legality of claims on natural products. The continual strengthening of global competition is also forcing the consolidation of the company's supply chain partners as mass merchandisers including Wal-Mart, Carrefour and Tesco from Europe make inroads into the U.S. market.
Analysis of While Foods Using Porter's Five Forces
Dr. Micheal Porter devised the Five Forces Model for analyzing the broader competitive and economic environment of companies. The five forces model industry is comprised of competitive rivalry, pressure for substitute products, bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of buyers, and the influence… READ MORE
Quoted Instructions for "Company Whole Foods Market" Assignment:
“Write a case analysis of the company Whole Foods Market. It should be broken down into the following: introduction (history, mission, strategy), SWOT table, SWOT discussion, industry analysis using Porter's Five Forces, strategy discussion/recommendations, conclusion.
The SWOT table should include at least 4 examples each of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for the company. The SWOT discussion should be discussed in separate paragraphs (all the strengths in one paragraph, all the weaknesses in one paragraph, etc.)
The Porter's analysis (barriers to entry, buyers and suppliers, rivalry and substitutes) should be broken out into separate paragraphs, and the power of each should be rated as high, medium, or low and then explained.
Cite sources throughout using the MLA format. There is no minimum on quotations; just a minimum of 4 sources.
How to Reference "Company Whole Foods Market" Research Proposal in a Bibliography
“Company Whole Foods Market.” A1-TermPaper.com, 2008, https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/whole-foods-case-study/19324. Accessed 5 Oct 2024.
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