Verified Document

Whole Foods Case Study Whole Research Proposal

Assessing Whole Foods Industry Competitors (Rivalry)

Whole Foods faces significant competition both at the local level in served U.S. markets and globally from Carrefour, Tesco and Wal-Mart. In addition the mergers and acquisitions of competitors are leading to regional competitors gaining critical mass, with Wegman's and Winn Dixie being two examples. As a result of these factors the rating for this factor is high.

Pressure from Substitute Products

Whole Foods is facing moderate competition from health food stores, traditional supermarkets, and supercenters. The pressure from substitute products is therefore considered medium.

Bargaining Power of Buyers

Buyers have more options with every new health food store, launch of new providers of healthy-based foods and health-related products. Competitors are concentrating on price, convenience, evangelism of healthy foods and healthy living and lifestyle changes many consumers globally are looking for (Stuart, 68, 69). As a result, this factor is rated as high.

Bargaining Power of Suppliers

As the demand for organic foods is one of the highest growth areas of grocery stores and food retailing, the entire supply chain of organic products often has more demand for their products than they have products to fulfill all potential orders (Ebenkamp, 14). From local growers, independent and family farmers, food brokers and Co-ops, the supply chain for natural foods is still vastly underdeveloped. This translates into a high rating for this specific factor.

Strategy Discussion & Recommendations

From this analysis it is evident at Whole Foods excels at launching new stores, and needs to continue this approach to growth, in conjunction with acquisitions of companies that selectively fit with their business model. Using the internal metric of growing at 10-15% (Ebenkamp, 14) which is achievable given the company's existing organizational processes, systems and structure, the company needs to align their strategies to accomplish this level of growth in 2009 and 2010.

Second, Whole Foods needs to create coordinate campaigns that provide rapid access to new geographic markets and also focus on their unique value proposition to attract new consumers as well. As While Foods excels at partnerships, they need to consider regionalized...

Third, the company's global brand equity needs to also be augmented more with psychographically-based analysis of key audiences that are oriented more towards healthy lifestyles. Fourth, Whole Foods needs to also concentrate on how to gain greater international sales in the UK and Canada by acquiring health food retailers in these nations to alleviate any cultural differences between the company and the specific country they are intent on selling into. Finally, Whole Foods need to concentrate on making their entire supply chain more efficient so sales productivity per employee can be driven up over time, in addition to overall company performance.
Conclusion

Whole Foods has a very unique market position today that can be augmented and strengthened if the company concentrates on extending its unique value proposition through better internal efficiency and through a more aggressive approach to global expansion. On this latter point, the use of merger & acquisition strategies needs to be considered as the company has shown an innate strength at this area of processes. Minimizing the risks of global expansion is critical for the long-term growth of the company, in conjunction with the growth of U.S.-based markets through lifestyle marketing. The continual orientation and endorsements of healthy foods in the U.S. media is acting as a form of business development for the chain today. To fully take advantage of this dynamic, Whole Foods must work to coordinate and control their supply chain more effectively, to keep global mass merchandisers Carrefour, Tesco and Wal-mart from dominating this retail market.

References

Jenna Crisostomo. "Whole Foods Market scales back expansion. " Gourmet News 1 Sep. 2008: 12-13. ABI/INFORM Trade & Industry. ProQuest. 11 Dec. 2008

Becky Ebenkamp. "Real Food Organics: Born on the Bio. "

Brandweek 23 Jun 2008: 14. ABI/INFORM Global. ProQuest. 10 Dec. 2008

Thomas a Lambert. "Four Lessons from the Whole Foods Case.

Regulation 31.1 (2008): 22-29. ABI/INFORM Global. ProQuest. 9 Dec. 2008

Stephen a. Stuart. "Communicating health messages to young consumers. " Young Consumers 7.4 (2006): 68-71. ABI/INFORM Global. ProQuest 12 Dec. 2008

Figure 1:

Porters' Five Forces Model

Sources used in this document:
References

Jenna Crisostomo. "Whole Foods Market scales back expansion. " Gourmet News 1 Sep. 2008: 12-13. ABI/INFORM Trade & Industry. ProQuest. 11 Dec. 2008

Becky Ebenkamp. "Real Food Organics: Born on the Bio. "

Brandweek 23 Jun 2008: 14. ABI/INFORM Global. ProQuest. 10 Dec. 2008

Thomas a Lambert. "Four Lessons from the Whole Foods Case.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Whole Foods Case Study Michael
Words: 1214 Length: 4 Document Type: Case Study

Threat of New Entry: Beginning a food business of any kind is difficult. This is one possible plus for Whole Foods. There is a great deal of red tape about sanitation and hygiene, when dealing with food preparation and sales. The requirements and regulations regarding organic products are even more onerous. SWOT Strengths Whole Foods is a long-standing and trusted brand name in organic produce. Consumers who believe in the organic movement have long

Whole Foods Case Study How
Words: 999 Length: 3 Document Type: Term Paper

True, the company has a highly cohesive ethic, regarding the environmentally friendly and ethically produced nature of its products. However, one problem that a supermarket chain will inevitably run across is that different areas of the nation have different tastes. This is why allowing self-governance is so important on a store-by-store basis for this chain. A Whole Foods in New York City might have more convenience vegan food, for

Whole Foods: Case Study Trends
Words: 1079 Length: 4 Document Type: Assessment

As more stores are offering organic strawberries, the student might decide to shop elsewhere. The shortage of time for many consumers may also reduce foot traffic at Whole Foods: consumers who used to stop at Whole Foods for specialty items but do the bulk of their shopping at a mainstream supermarket may eliminate their trip to Whole Foods, if they are working longer hours to make more money. Time-pressed

Case Study and Business
Words: 3461 Length: 11 Document Type: SWOT

Entrepreneurial Approach M1 - Discussion I have always thought entrepreneurship is just about starting a business. However, it is interesting to learn that entrepreneurship is more of a mindset or a behavioural tendency as opposed to just pursuing a business idea. It is a way of thinking characterised by the desire to create or exploit opportunities, take risks, to be innovative, and to grow. This mindset applies to not only individuals,

Whole Foods Market Strategic Management Case Study
Words: 1601 Length: 5 Document Type: Case Study

Whole Foods Market The term whole food entails organic and natural food that gives customers opportunity to have ample range of products. Natural food refers to type of foods that are not having antibiotics or growth hormones. Organic are food that match to the standards that was defined in October 2002 by the U.S. Agriculture Department. Whole Foods Market became the leading retailer of organic and natural food in the world,

Rest Case Study There Is No Such
Words: 882 Length: 3 Document Type: Case Study

Rest Case study There is no such thing Q1.The origin of slavery can be traced back to late 1600's in Jamestown in Virginia. In early 1600's the Virginia Company came to America and established the colony of Virginia. In the process of establishing the colony the English settlers also brought with them Portuguese and Dutch traders to help in the establishment of the colony. The English settlers had previously failed in

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now