Whole Foods Market

Whole Foods Market

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Institution:

Whole Foods Market

Introduction

            Organic foods have served a number of nations over the years owing to the natural state of availability and benefits it has. The whole foods market being an extensive supply of foods that contain no traces of artificial preservatives, no additional colors, flavors or fats has gained popularity among the women who term it as a natural and healthy food chain market. Whole Foods Market Inc. controls a wide range of supermarkets that are engaged in the production of organic foods (Whole Foods Market, 2016). With the modern technology and diversity of plant development, the whole foods market has expanded as it adapts to seafoods and a wider range of value products. The objective of the whole foods market is to produce quality goods that meet the natural specifications desired by its diverse consumers (Company Info, 2016). An analysis of the whole foods market will provide great insight of how ABC Company can integrate the use of natural foods in business.

Discussion

Strategic Analysis

            Strategically, the whole foods market has gained massive support from its customers and other companies that associate with its products. Subjectively, the quality standards set by the company along with the systematic practices it employs in production have propelled the success of the whole foods market (Whole Foods Market, 2016). The strategic analysis of whole foods market will take into account the different initiatives and expansion plans that prove effective in promoting the company brand. A major contributing factor to the success of the whole foods market is the positioning of the retailer across different countries and the ability to focus on the core values, vision and mission objectives of the company. The market has been on the rise as the value of goods maintains a steady rise (Whole Foods Market, 2016). Systematic objectives place organizations at strategic positions of advantage against their competitors. Once the employees understand their role in service delivery and the effect of strategic initiatives towards success, they will work towards achieving company goals.

Since the retailer was formed, whole foods market initiated a set of mission, vision and value objectives that would accelerate the attainment of success. The objective mission of the whole food market was to promote the vitality and well-being of all individuals by offering the highest quality, least processed, most flavorful natural and naturally preserved foods available. This mission statement has been a driving force to continue with natural production and sale of organic foods since initiation. The whole foods market had a vision of reaching a diverse population where it would offer a sustainable future even in the modern world (Whole Foods Market, 2016). Their desire was that their children and grandchildren would live in a society that admires the outcome of individual creativity, diversity and choice. It sensitized on the importance of business not undermining the benefits of the environment through the improper use of natural resources.

The values incorporated to the whole foods market strategically provide an avenue of realization on the part of consumers that the organic retailer considers the effects artificial foods pose to people. The eight values clearly show the commitment of the company to its consumers. Whole foods market sells high quality natural and organic produce that preserve the health of the consumers. Evidently, natural foods have proven to contain healthy nutrients therefore beneficial to the body. The company aims at delighting and satisfying their customer needs as the most important aspect in business. As a core value, whole foods market aims at supporting the input of their team members to promote excellence. Whole foods market generates wealth through profit sales and gradual growth (Whole Foods Market, 2016). Supporting the local and global community through service is an important value the retailer possesses. The market promotes environmental preservation, supplier relationships and education on healthy eating.

Strategic goals

            Although whole foods market is one of the rapid growing businesses in many countries, the need for expansion has always been a challenge. Therefore, whole foods market has placed a growth strategy through expansion as one of their goals (Thompson, 2015). To make this possible, whole foods market is to sign merger agreements and purchase low performing companies that act as competitors. As much as the business has this as their primary goals, opening more stores is their first priority. Initially in 2009, the increase in store openings was expected to be between 25 and 30 stores although an economic disadvantage lowered the stores to 15. This generic strategy will assist the business in maintaining a difference with its competitors. Combining generic growth strategies and intensive growth strategies proves to be an effective method of achieving goals for the business.

Whole foods market generic strategy of growth incorporates the use of vast natural foods that contain no traces of artificial additives (Thompson, 2015). Through this, the company is able to acquire the trust of its customers in adhering to its mission, vision and values. Customer satisfaction is portrayed by the post-purchase behavior regarding different commodities. Similarly, the generic applications through marketing takes into account the different customer conditions and preferences regardless the age, gender or nationality. The company does this by avoiding products that contain elements of artificial evidence. Generically, the business aims at expanding its supply chain to farmers and producers. Intensively, whole foods market aims at attaining new market segments and further developing its products. Product development helps in attracting more consumers.

Competitive Market

Although the success of whole foods market is evident, the business has experienced a couple of challenges. One of the major challenges is the presence of diverse competitors who increase as the field of natural food production increases. Local, international and regional competitors joining the organic food business compete with whole foods market by providing exemplary services. Major competitors that affect the success of whole foods market include but are not limited to Wal Mart, which is the most viable competitor sells generic groceries, Kroger that sells medicine and food products and Supervalu markets that sells natural groceries. Most of these privately owned supermarkets have experienced tremendous growth in its sales per year. Although the private sector seems to dominate the organic food sector, a competitive advantage is seen on the part of government owned supermarkets, which focus on capitalizing on the consumer preferences. Similarly, grocery markets that occupy a smaller amount of sale are embracing the sale of organic foods that gain popularity by the day.

SWOT

            Strengths

            Whole foods market has a number of strengths that cause its success. The high quality standards that separate whole foods markets with other supermarkets act as a driving force to success. The ability to attract customers through the quality of goods sold and services implemented act as a strength to any business. Organic food trends are gaining popularity among the public who desire healthy living. The ability of whole foods to avail such goods acts as a strength to the business.

            Weaknesses

            Although Whole foods have a wide range of customers, the persistent perception of customers on the high prices of goods acts as a weakness to the business. Similarly, depending on the fluctuating economy to sustain sales and profits prove to be a weakness of the whole foods markets.         

            Opportunities

            The major opportunity that whole foods markets can accrue maximum benefits from is the returns from international expansion. Increasing the number of stores in different countries will help reduce the competitive advantage possessed by other organic supermarkets.

            Threats

Wal Mart being the largest selling organic supermarket poses as a threat in competitive nature owing to its popularity. The development of local, international and regional organic stores and groceries pose a threat to the success of whole foods market.

Strategic Changes

            Whole foods market needs to make strategic changes that will prove an advantage over competitors and increase the profits. It needs to device better ways of creating brand awareness through sensitizing on the importance of consuming organic foods and not the business objectives (Don Meador et al., 2012). This strategy will assist customers realize a greater perspective of the existence of whole foods markets. A challenge of the size of whole foods market stores has created congestion in stores and the loss in customers. Bigger stores need to be integrated into the expansion plan to handle the increasing customers.

Recommendations

            To maintain the company trend in success, a number of recommendations have been made for how whole foods market can reach more customers. Reaching more customers directly translates to increased competitiveness and an acceleration of the financial performance by the business. Whole foods market owing to its diversity employs a large number of customers in different chain stores and business levels. The labor costs employed in the production process also affect the realization of maximum profits. To minimize on the labor costs and maximize on profits and production, the company needs to evaluate its methods of approach on production. This valuation assists the business determine sensitive areas of concern for the business and eliminate any excess spending. Dealing with excess costs will help the business relieve resources and allow for concentration on customer satisfaction rather than production.

After an evaluation of whole foods market strategies of attracting more consumers, it is evident that the efforts placed on advertising are much lower compared to other organic food companies. Sales emanating from advertising efforts are placed at 0.5% of the total profits in a fiscal year. Furthermore, this percentage owed to the relevance of other shoppers and consumers through verbal advertisements owing to its popularity. As recommended, whole foods market should invest more on advertising that proves to be effective when handling customers. Forms of advertising that could be adopted include mass media sensitization, product sampling and testing, road shows and taste fairs. Through this, whole foods market can also introduce more products in the market and directly inform their customers. Offering discounts and promotional sales to customers may also help the business to realize more customers.

Conclusion

Integrating whole foods market into ABC Company may be a great step in accelerating the sale of organic foods in the needy market. However, as much as customers will benefit from this venture, ABC Company is likely to record a high amount of returns. The approach to the integration of the whole foods market needs to be understood and strategically evaluated before any step is made. Issues such as consumer ability, competitive markets and substitutive products are some of the factors that need careful evaluation. In determining the strategic location of the company, it is advisable to choose a position where acquisition of the raw materials is not strenuous and the environment response is positive. Adhering to the mission, vision and values in business help build the confidence if the customers that will in turn reflect to the financial benefits accrued.

References

Company Info. (2016). Whole Foods Market. Retrieved 14 July 2016, from http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/company-info.

Don Meador, Britton, M., Phillips, P., Howery, A. (2012). Case Analysis – Whole Foods Market. Retrieved on November 7, 2012 from: http://tainted-ink.net/archives/102.

Thompson, A. (2015). Whole Foods Market’s Generic & Intensive Growth Strategies – Panmore Institute. Panmore Institute. Retrieved 14 July 2016, from http://panmore.com/whole-foods-market-generic-strategy-intensive-growth-strategies

Whole Foods Market Inc. (2016). Reuters. Retrieved 14 July 2016, from http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/companyProfile?symbol=WFM.O

Whole Foods Market, Inc. – Investors – Financial Information – Annual Reports & Proxy. (2016). Investor.wholefoodsmarket.com. Retrieved 14 July 2016, from http://investor.wholefoodsmarket.com/investors/financial-information/annual-reports-and-proxy/default.aspx

Whole Foods Market: America’s Healthiest Grocery Store. (2016). Wholefoodsmarket.com. Retrieved 14 July 2016, from http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com