Finally, by offering purely informational material on its Internet site, it draws additional traffic from web-surfers who may be looking for information regarding the benefits of 'going organic,' and after becoming persuaded about the general superiority of such produce, decide to make their next grocery store trip at ild Oats.
Types of sales promotions used

Like most grocery stores, ild Oats pulls customers into the store through the weekly promotion of different, popular seasonal items. One blurb on the website reads: "hat's on sale." Click onto the link, and the web-surfer can type the zip code of his or her local store, and find out what is on sale. Also, ild Oats offers consumers weekly email notifications of popular sale items, usually on seasonal or locally grown produce -- but also on vitamins and natural body products. The fact that customers also can type in their store's location, as different locations…...

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Works Cited

Field Trip: Factory." Wild Oats Official Web page. [6 Aug 2006]

 

Some produce may be reduced in price due to seasonal considerations, but not specifically because of the product life cycle of organic blueberries. Even the online sales information for ild Oats products do not advertise any specific discounts, regarding dry goods, regardless of season or venue. ("Shop for ild Oats at Amazon.com," Official eb page, 2006) Thus, there is no specific strategy to reduce prices for new products, or to reduce prices for products at the end of the life cycle, given the constraints of the input costs of food items.
Factors that affect the sensitivity of the product's pricing

The availability of non-organic substitutes is an obvious concern regarding product pricing. Many consumers will not patronize ild Oats if there is an economic downturn, and they cannot afford to buy locally. Even wealthier consumers who patronize ild Oats likely have a limited share of their weekly income that they are…...

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Works Cited

Community Commitment: Fair Trade." (2006) Wild Oats Official Web page. [6 Aug 2006]  http://www.wildoats.com/u/community 100066/

Shop for Wild Oats at Amazon.com." Wild Oats Official Web page. [6 Aug 2006]

 http://www.wildoats.com/redesign/shop.php 

Wild Oats: Home." (2006) Wild Oats Official Web page. [6 Aug 2006]

Marketing Strategy for Products:
Wild Oats Grocery is a small and autonomous cooperative grocery store with a wide range of foods that are high in quality. As part of its strategy to provide high quality products, the grocery store offers foods that meet the tastes of its customers. The mission of Wild Oats Grocery is to offer natural, high quality, and fresh foods as well as health and well-being products. In order to maintain excellent customer service in its entire operations, the company's employees are ready to serve, friendly and willing to educate.

Type of Products Offered by Wild Oats Grocery:

Wild Oats Grocery contains various products that help in satisfying customers' needs for a delicious meal and healthy snack. The store offers several grocery items like beans, natural sweeteners, coffee substitutes, canned tomatoes, pasta, hot chocolate, and tea. Additional products are organic nut butters, juices, chips, spritzers, and salsas produced from natural…...

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References:

Aina, A. & Cruise, B. (2005, December 5). Wild Oats Market, Inc. (OATS). Retrieved from Yale

School of Management website: http://analystreports.som.yale.edu/reports/wildoats.pdf

"Grocery." (n.d.). Wild Oats Markets, Inc. Retrieved November 12, 2011, from  http://www.wildoats.coop/grocery.html 

"Investor FAQ." (n.d.). Wild Oats Markets, Inc. Retrieved November 12, 2011, from http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=70699&p=irol-faq

International Strategies
Whole Foods Market (WFM) is a grocery store chain that has operations in the U.S., Canada and the UK. Competitor The Fresh Market (TFM) is based only in the United States at this point. While Whole Foods is substantially bigger, these two companies are close competitors of one another based on the similarity of their product lines and their target markets. This paper will analyze the strategic tactics of each of these companies, based on their respective growth strategies.

The Merger & Evaluation

By 2007, Whole Foods was becoming the dominant player in the natural foods grocery business. It sought to grow further, and decided to purchase struggling competitor Wild Oats (Fineman, 2007). At the time, Whole Foods paid $18.50 in cash for each share of Wild Oats. There was concern from the Federal Trade Commission about the deal, because it put Whole Foods in a dominant position within the natural…...

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References

Bartz, D. (2009). Whole Foods, FTC settle on Wild Oats merger. Reuters. Retrieved November 30, 2013 from  http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/03/06/us-wholefoods-ftc-idUSTRE5253AL20090306 

Fineman, J. (2007). Whole Foods agrees to buy Wild Oats; profit declines. Bloomberg. Retrieved November 30, 2013 from  http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aZtDQutxeDsU 

MSN Moneycentral. (2013). Whole Foods. Retrieved November 30, 2013 from  http://investing.money.msn.com/investments/stock-price?symbol=WFM&ocid=qbes 

MSN Moneycentral. (2013). The Fresh Market. Retrieved November 30, 2013 from  http://investing.money.msn.com/investments/stock-price?symbol=TFM&ocid=qbes

profiled for this exercise are Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. Whole Foods is based in Texas and has spread across the country as a retailer of organic, gourmet and natural foods. The company has expanded into Canada and the United Kingdom. Whole Foods also made a major move in the United States when it acquired Wild Oats, which was its major competitor at the time. The deal ran into trouble with the Federal Trade Commission but was ultimately allowed to go through, since there is nothing stopping other grocery stores from selling the same type of foods (Gogoi, 2007).
Trader Joe's is a competitor to Whole Foods, but one that remains only in the United States and it has typically expanded by building new stores. The company does not just have natural foods but it competes for roughly the same customer base as Whole Foods, and most customers of one…...

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References

CBC. (2013). Trader Joe's loses fight with Vancouver's Pirate Joe's. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved June 3, 2014 from  http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/trader-joe-s-loses-fight-with-vancouver-s-pirate-joe-s-1.1912400 

Gogoi, P. (2007). No Wild Oats for Whole Foods? Business Week. Retrieved June 3, 2014 from  http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2007-06-06/no-wild-oats-for-whole-foods-businessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice 

Loeb, W. (2012). Aldi's Trader Joe's is a winner. Forbes. Retrieved June 3, 2014 from  http://www.forbes.com/sites/walterloeb/2012/05/17/aldis-trader-joes-is-a-winner/ 

Moore, A. (2007). Whole Foods to acquire rival Wild Oats. MarketWatch. Retrieved June 3, 2014 from  http://www.marketwatch.com/story/correct-whole-foods-to-acquire-rival-wild-oats-for-565-million

One food blogger, comparing the price of organic crackers noted that "Carr's crackers were only $3.79 at Whole Foods" but "$4.39 at Haight Street Market, $4.25 at Say Cheese" in her area (Levin 2011).
This seems to be a wise strategy for Whole Foods, given that it cannot compete on price without sacrificing its core values. "There has been much consolidation in the supermarket industry in recent years. The surviving players have realized that they cannot be all things to all people. Instead, they are attempting to do the things they do best better than their competition" (Inlay 2006). In contrast, SuperValu's strategy has been to expand as swiftly as possible and offer value-based savings on a wide variety of goods, including fuel and pharmaceutical items as well as foods. It acquired the Albertson's grocery chain (another mega-store), further increasing its outreach across the nation.

One of the dangers of adopting…...

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References

Hughlett, Mike. (2011, January 6). SuperValu to close stores. Star Tribune. Retrieved March 25,

2011 at  http://www.startribune.com/business/113050249.html?elr=KArks:DCiU1OiP:DiiUiacyKUnciaec8O7EyUr 

Imlay, Thom. (2006, May). Challenges in today's U.S. supermarket industry.

Microsoft retail and hospitality. Retrieved March 25, 2011 at  http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa479076.aspx#chlussprmrkt_topic1

Saints and the oughnecks by William Chambliss is a masterpiece study in Seattle suburb in the 1970s and it demonstrates the significance of connecting the macro and micro factors together. (Conformity, deviance and Crime) The Saints and the oughnecks were two clusters of boys from the same Hanibal High School, who got involved in the same kinds of abnormal behaviors but were branded differently by the public. (Violence; Disease or Attitude) The Saints belonged to upper-middle-class families, while the oughnecks belonged to a lower socioeconomic setting. (Conformity, deviance and Crime) The saints were a cluster of eight young men of fine, steady, white upper-middle class families on the pre-college track in high school, who were vigorous in school affairs, who associate in unbelievably large amounts of absenteeism, much of drinking and driving, quite a bit of little stealing and vandalism, and loads of deceiving in school, but cope up…...

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References

"Conformity, deviance and Crime" (2003) Retrieved from   Accessed on 14 November, 2004http://www.wwnorton.com/giddens4/chapters/chapter7/welcome.htm 

'Self-Fulfilling Prophecies" Retrieved from   Accessed on 14 November, 2004http://www94.homepage.villanova.edu/peter.knapp/IthemeSFP.htm 

'Theories of Deviance: Conflict Theory" Retrieved from   Accessed on 14 November, 2004http://www.d.umn.edu/~bmork/2306/Theories/BAMconflict2.htm 

'The Saints and the Roughnecks" Retrieved from Accessed on 14 November, 2004http://chat.wcc.cc.il.us/~kwestman/Week_7_Chambliss01.htm

Saints and Roughnecks was the title given to Chambliss' 197 study in which he found that class and not crime often determines a person's reputation in the society and his fate with the police. The author, William Chambliss' selected two different groups of teenagers for his study, one coming from affluent part of the metropolitan area and are labeled Saints for the study, while the other group came from lower-income section of the society and were thus termed 'Roughnecks'. The study sought to find out just why the lower-income group was more often clashing with the police and ending up in jail for petty crimes, while the other group usually escaped police even though they were just about as delinquent as roughnecks. "In terms of the sheer number of illegal acts, the high-SES [socioeconomic status] boys were more delinquent. However, they were perceived as "sowing their wild oats" and were…...

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3) Gareis, Karen C. The influence of status on decisions to help. The Journal of Social Psychology; 2/1/1993;

4) James F. Short: Poverty, Ethnicity and Violent Crime. Westview Press. Boulder, CO. 1997.

5) William J. Chambliss: Power, Politics and Crime. Westview Press. Boulder, CO. 1999

Mergers and acquisitions also offer the potential for expansion into a new regional market if the old one is super-saturated, if one of the merging or acquired entities is located in a different area of the world.
On paper, it would seem that mergers and acquisitions can often convey value to a company, but two-thirds of most large mergers fail (Mergers and acquisitions: Why they can fail, 2010, Investopedia). One critical question to ask when evaluating if a merger or acquisition is likely to be successful is if the merging organizations have a similar enough corporate culture and standard operating procedures to truly generate such mutual synergy. Worker motivation may decrease if the corporate cultures are inharmonious. When straight-laced Disney acquired the more freewheeling Pixar studios in a friendly takeover, creating a common culture still proved to be a challenge, despite the fact that both entities were animation studios (What…...

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References

Growing a business. (2010). Tutor2U. Retrieved October 15, 2010 at  http://tutor2u.net/business/gcse/organisation_growing_a_business.htm 

Mergers and acquisitions: Why they can fail. (2010). Investopedia. Retrieved October

15, 2010 at  http://www.investopedia.com/university/mergers/mergers5.asp 

What is the difference between a merger and a takeover? (2010). Investopedia. Retrieved October 15, 2010 at  http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/05/mergervstakeover.asp

John Mackey: hole Foods Leader
Leadership is often defined as having an inspirational function. "Leadership is the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of goals. A leader does not have to be someone who holds a formal position or title. They can emerge from a group and provide vision and motivation to those around them" (Schutte, Chapter 12, 2010: Slide 3). Leadership is said to be in stark contrast to management, which merely "deals with the complexity of the organization and works with planning, organizing, leading and controlling to bring about order and consistency in the organization. Even though the two roles have different areas of focus, both are necessary for organizational success" (Schutte, Chapter 12, 2010: Slide 3). Leadership defines the vision of the organization; management offers practical ways to embody that vision. Having charismatic and inspiring leadership is essential for an organization that 'breaks the mold' like…...

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Works Cited

"About Whole Foods." Whole Foods. [6 Dec 2011]

 http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/ company/

Fishman, Charles. The anarchist's cookbook. Fast Company. 2004. [6 Dec 2011]

 http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/84/wholefoods.html

Andrejczak, M. (February 9, 2011). hole Foods raises outlook; shares po
Marketwatch. Retrieved February 28, 2011 from http://www.marketwatch.com/story/whole-foods-raises-outlook-shares-pop-2011-02-09

Barbaro, M. (May 10, 2006). hole Foods Talks Dollars and Cents. The New York Times.

Retrieved February 24, 2011 from http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/10/business/media/10adco.html

Bloomberg.com. (February 25, 2011). Stocks in U.S. Extend Advance after Consumer

Confidence Exceeds Forecast. Bloomberg. Retrieved February 28, 2011 from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-25/stocks-in-u-s-extend-advance-after-consumer-confidence-exceeds-forecast.html

Bloomberg.com. (February 25, 2011). Stock Futures Rise; Boeing Climbs on Air Force

Refueling Contract. Bloomberg. Retrieved February 28, 2011 from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-25/u-s-stock-futures-rise-boeing-climbs-on-air-force-refueling-contract-win.html

Brand Image- hole Foods Market: "Love, love, love." Social Brand Value. Retrieved February

24, 2011 from http://www.social-brand-value.com/2010/07/12/brand-image-whole-foods-market-love-love-love/

Breakfast Run Secures Sponsorship with hole Foods Market. (November 24, 2010).

HUMANRACE. Retrieved February 25, 2011 from http://www.humanrace.co.uk/news/35-latest-news/791-breakfast-run-secures-sponsorship-with-whole-foods-market

CBNC.com. (February 25, 2011). hole Foods Financials. Retrieved http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/FMI/tab/7.2

Cultural Sweat. (August 19, 2010). hole Foods Market Launches Healthy Mission App for iPhone. Cultural Sweat. Retrieved March 4, 2011 from http://culturalsweat.com/2010/08/whole-foods-market-launches-healthy-mission-app-for-iPad-iPhone/

Dustman, R. (July 2008). Organic Produce: ho's Eating it? A Demographic Profile of Organic Produce Consumers. Retrieved…...

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Whole Foods Corporate Site. Retrieved February 25, 2011 from  http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/ 

Whole Foods Magazine. (N.D.). Subscriptions. Whole Foods. Retrieved March 4, 2011 from  http://www.wholefoodsmagazineonline.com/subscribe 

WikiInvest. (N.D.). Whole Foods Market. Retrieved February 25, 2011 from  http://www.wikinvest.com/stock/Whole_Foods_Market_ (WFMI)

Amish are a long-standing religious sect, created in the 17th century after the first Amish broke from the Mennonite Protestant tradition because of "what they perceived as a lack of discipline among the Mennonites" (The Amish: History, belief, practices, 2011, eligious Tolerance). The original Amish were of Swiss and German extraction. Many migrated to the U.S. In the early stages of the sect's formation, settling in Pennsylvania, and gradually branching out into New York, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri Ohio, and other states where they still reside today. No Amish remain in Europe. "The faith group has attempted to preserve the elements of late 17th century European rural culture. They try to avoid many of the features of modern society, by developing practices and behaviors which isolate themselves from American culture" (The Amish: History, belief, practices, 2011, eligious Tolerance).
The Amish used to be farmers, marking the culture as 'pastoral' in nature,…...

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References

Adult baptism. (2011). Welcome to Manchester County. Retrieved December 15, 2011 at  http://www.welcome-to-lancaster-county.com/amish-belief.html 

The Amish: History, belief, practices. (2011). Religious Tolerance. Retrieved December 15,

2011 at  http://www.religioustolerance.org/amish.htm 

Frequently asked questions. (2011). Amish Studies. Retrieved December 15, 2011 at  http://www2.etown.edu/amishstudies/FAQ.asp

The bargaining power of suppliers

Suppliers have a relatively high bargaining power. On a market like organic foods, suppliers are very important for companies' activity. In other words, they practically depend on their suppliers.

As a consequence, suppliers represent the most important environmental factor of influence for Whole Foods, and the same situation applies in the case of any organic foods company. This business consists mainly in the raw materials that the company uses to produce the goods it sells under this brand. The company's activity depends on the quality of the raw materials, and on any potential delays from suppliers. The prices negotiated with suppliers have a direct impact on the production costs, and on the end-user price.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

The company's strong position on the market in ensured by the numerous strengths the company benefits from. First of all, the company is renowned by the quality of its products. This further creates…...

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Reference list:

1. Industry Statistics and Projected Growth (2008). Organic Trade Association. Retrieved February 8, 2010 from  http://www.ota.com/organic/mt/business.html .

2. Hunt, N. & Dorfman, B. (2009). How green is my wallet? Organic food growth slows. Reuters. Retrieved February 8, 2010 from  http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE50R01C20090128 .

Natureview has, to this point, been successful operating within the natural foods channel. The company has expanded its product range over the years and has become one of the industry leaders in the natural foods segment. Natureview has attained within ten years of startup national distribution in its segment. The company has captured a 24% share in the natural foods market. While this equates to just a 0.7% share of the total yoghurt market, it is a strong starting position. Given the expected growth of the natural foods channel, maintaining this market share in that channel would give Natureview total sales of $26.6 million by 2003. Thus, its objective of increasing sales to $20 million by 2001 is not unrealistic at all. It equates to a 25% revenue increase in each of the next two years. The company has enjoyed a compound average growth rate of 62.5%, while the natural…...

Rebellion
The parable of the prodigal son in the Gospel of Luke is one of the seminal Biblical tales. In it, the father of two healthy sons divides his wealth and property equitably between them, and later willingly allows the younger son to ramble on and go traveling in his youth. The older son remains at home with the father. The younger son sows his wild oats and has a grand time gallivanting, but eventually runs out of money. Before he runs home to his father, he seeks gainful employment as a pig feeder, one of the lowliest positions that he could have imagined, especially given the scriptural admonishment against eating swine. Eventually the young man returned home hoping to seek solace in his father's home. The father welcomes his estranged son with open arms. He is so happy to see him, in fact, that he slaughters a fat calf for…...