...using the Nadler-Tushman Congruence Model to conduct an analysis of Whole Food Market’s inputs and how they align with the current company strategy, as well as its outputs. In this case study we will use the strategy we previously discussed in Module 1 and using the Porter’s three generic competitive strategies to analyzed organizational categories input to the strategy using the congruence model. The model should be able to help us determine how aligned the inputs are with the strategy. The model will give us three categories for inputs: the environment, resources and historical inputs and three categories for outputs: organizational level, group level and individual level to help us determine the congruence of the outputs. While conducting the Congruence Model we will use the inputs and outputs categories to determine the organizational level congruence of the Whole Food Markets; using all these various aspects the model will give us a good vision of the current organizational structure and performance of the company. Lastly we will analyzed all three level of organizational inputs and outputs and determine how each of these categories interact with each other to determine their similarity to was the Whole Foods Market business strategy. 2- Whole Foods Markets Inc. Strategy The Whole Foods market’s business strategy is based on their reputation and differentiation from other firms in the Grocery industry. The company has establishes multiple quality strategies to ensure customers...
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...Europe's second most inhabited nation, it is the continent’s largest economy. The beverage and food industry in Germany can be described as committed to providing the very best, with a desire to embrace changing consumer needs and wants. In the last ten years, there has been a boom in the organic food segment with an explosion in sales. Germany stands prominently at the top of beverage and food market development as it works to embrace the international increased demand for healthier food. The demand exists in Europe and Germany is an established leader. Whole Foods Market has self-proclaimed themselves America’s healthiest grocery store. They attempt to find and provide customers the highest quality natural and organic foods by implementing a strict quality standards process. The very first Whole Foods Market originated in Austin, Texas in 1980 with the belief that the natural foods industry needed a supermarket foundation. Though it was a small location staffed by less than 20 people, the supermarket took off. Since then Whole Foods Market has become a leader retailer in natural and organic foods. It has hundreds of locations all over the world, with the majority in the United States. Its success has been depending on the multibillion dollar growing market for natural and organic foods that has rapidly grown since the company opened in 1980. The natural and organic foods market is incredibly attractive and is only continuously growing in attractiveness. There is no question...
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...Case #3: WHOLE FOODS Assignment Questions 1. What are the chief elements of the strategy that Whole Foods Market is pursuing? Growth Strategy Not only did Whole Foods open their own new stores, but acquired small chains that already had personnel and a good location. They began by acquiring smaller chains with smaller stores and started to acquire bigger stores. They also went international in 2004 by acquiring a company in London. The following graph displays the growth of the company in how many total Whole Foods stores were open by the end of each fiscal year. The significant increase in 2006-2007 is due to the acquisition of their biggest competitor, Wild Oats. Store Location Strategy This strategy entails looking into looking for potential markets to enter by the following criterias: education levels, population density, and income. After analyzing sales, profit, and cost, estimations are made for several possible sites. After narrowing the choices, the economic value added (EVA) is looked at for the best possible site. This is based off of their internal weighted-average cost of capital. To be approved, the cumulative EVA needs to be positive for the next five years or less. Whole Foods goes through an entire process to make sure that every store that is opened will have the greatest possibility of generating profit. Whole Foods focuses on high-traffic locations that were by upper real estate properties. Product Line...
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...Whole Foods: Final Paper Whole Foods Market, Inc Jess Tourville Endicott College Managing in the Evolving Workplace TJ Hanratty March 5, 2013 From the fairly humble beginning of being a one-store entrepreneur living on the third floor and taking baths in the dishwasher, John Mackey has seen his 1978 Safer Way grocery store grow into an $8 billion a year corporation. As of September 2008, Whole Foods had 264 stores in the United States, six in Canada, and five in the United Kingdom. Whole Food’s is now the leading chain of natural food supermarkets in the United States. The company's stores average 28,500 square feet in size and feature foods that are free from artificial preservatives, colors, flavors, and sweeteners. They also offer many organically grown products. Many locations include in-store cafes and juice bars. Whole Foods has also developed a growing line of private label products such as organic pasta, freshly roasted nut butters, oak-aged wine vinegars, and aromatic teas. After the company was founded in 1980 with a single store, it grew dramatically into a chain of more than 130 stores in 25 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada. It is a Fortune 1000 company, ranked as the 41st largest U.S. supermarket and the 730th largest U.S. company overall. There are few companies that attract the kind of following Whole Foods and its CEO/founder has both among its customers and the national media. Their corporate website averages more than 50,000 visitors...
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...COMPANY BACKGROUND Whole Foods Market was founded in Austin, Texas, when four local businesspeople decided the natural foods industry was ready for a supermarket format. Their founders were John Mackey and Renee Lawson Hardy, owners of Safer Way Natural Foods, and Craig Weller and Mark Skiles, owners of Clarksville Natural Grocery. The original Whole Foods Market opened in 1980 with a staff of only 19 people. It was an immediate success. At the time, there were less than half a dozen natural food supermarkets in the United States. It has grown in leaps and bounds since then. Today, they are the world’s leader in natural and organic foods, with more than 310 stores in the North America and the United Kingdom (About Whole Foods Market). During its 31-year history, Whole Foods Market has been a leader in the natural and organic food movement across the United States, helping the industry gain acceptance among growing numbers of consumer concerned about the food they eat (Thompson, Strickland, & Gamble, 2010, p.C-2). The company seeks out the finest natural and organic foods available, maintains the strictest quality standards in the industry, and has an unshakeable commitment to sustainable agriculture. Add that to the excitement and fun they bring to shopping for groceries, and you start to get a sense of what they are all about. John Mackey, the company’s cofounder and CEO, believes that Whole Foods’ rapid growth and market success has much to do with its having “remained...
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...Case 1: Whole Foods Market in 2010: Vision, Core Values, and Strategy 1. What are the chief elements of the strategy that Whole Foods Market is pursuing? * Whole Foods uses the competitive advantage of having 100% organic products and the highest quality of natural products. Whole Foods uses growth strategy of expanding a combination of opening its own new stores and also acquiring small, owner-managed chains located in desirable markets. Another use of strategy is their location of stores. The company had a set number of stores each year. Their product line strategy guaranteed 100% satisfaction on all items purchased and too live up to their core values. For pricing, Whole Foods products and offerings were “value-priced”. The prices are normally higher than conventional supermarkets. 2. Is Whole Foods’ strategy well matched to market conditions in the food retailing industry (one of the criteria for a winning strategy discussed in Chapter 1)? * Whole Foods does not pass the fit test in the food retailing industry because other supermarkets dominate the industry and have the potential to have more success in a down economy. Whole Foods does have a sustainable competitive advantage in the industry that is becoming a preferred way of life. This company has the option of producing a superior performance, but it may not be for more than a brief period. As far as the performance test, Whole Foods does have financial strength and maintains competitive strength...
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...Whole Foods Analysis Introduction Whole Foods Markets is a grocery store chain that specializes in natural and organic foods. The company prides itself on delivering the highest quality of natural and organic foods to their customers. With the help of some smart acquisitions, Whole Foods has grown to become the largest natural and organic food chain in the United States. The company credits their success to staying true to their mission statement and their original formula. Synopsis of the situation Whole Foods has been around for over 30 years. During this time, the landscape of the market has changes immensely. The company’s founder John Mackey has some big decisions ahead of him. With the changing economy and a more competitive industry landscape, Mackey is uncertain about how to meet the company’s aggressive growth targets. The company has an objective to reach $12 billion in revenue with 300 plus stores by 2010 without sacrificing quality and their current reputation (Harasta, Hoffman, 2007). Key Issues The key issue that Whole Foods has to face is a surge of competition in the market. At inception, Whole Foods was one of only a few grocery stores catering solely to natural and organic food customers. The market has grown in that time. Conventional grocery stores and wholesale chains like Costco and Sam’s Club, seizing the opportunity in this rapidly growing market, have also become competition since they have now incorporated organic food sections within their current...
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...October 30th, 2015 Whole Foods Market brands themselves as “America's Healthiest Grocery Store.” They were founded in 1980, when four local business people decided that the natural food industry was ready for supermarket format. They started with one small store in Austin, Texas and now are the worlds leader in natural and organic foods, with 431 stores in North America and the United Kingdom. Much of the growth of this fortune 500 company, has been accomplished through mergers and acquisitions. They operate as a high profitable corporation while maintaining an aura of commitment to social justice and environmental responsibility. Although Whole Foods Market operates on a profit, it also has established three non-profit organizations; Whole Kids Foundation, Whole Planet Foundation, and Whole Cities Foundation. 100% of donations help to support and achieve the mission of each of these organizations. Many of Whole Food Markets distributors and global partners are contributors to these organizations. Whole Foods Market is not only a highly successful business, but a movement in shaping the future of a world that values human creativity, diversity, and individual choice. Whole Foods Market, the first National Certified Organic Grocer in the United States, is a Fortune 500 company and ranked as the 10th-largest food and drug store in the United States. The four founders of Whole Foods Market were John Mackey, Renee Lawson Hardy, (owners of Saferway Natural Foods), and Craig Weller...
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...Discuss the trends in retailing of organic foods and the impact of these trends on Whole Foods Market Organic Foods now occupy prominent shelf space in the produce and diary aisles of most mainstream U.S food retailers. Retail sales of organic foods have increased from $3.6 billion in 1997 to $21.1 billion in 2008. Whole Foods Market which is the world’s largest retail chain of natural and organic foods was founded in 1980. The company has stores in the U.S, Canada, and Great Britain with sales of $12 billion for year ending 2010. Among the trends impacting in the retailing of organic foods is the inclusion of organic products by mainstream supermarkets such as Wal-Mart, Kroger, Publix, Safeway and Save-a-Lot. In addition, stores such as Harris Teeter have introduced their own private-label brands of organics. The impact of this trend on the operations of Whole Foods is loss of customers and profit. As demand for organic foods increased, mainstream supermarkets would continue to expand their offering and selections. (Thompson, Strickland, & Gamble, 2009) Most of these supermarkets will leverage on their wide network of stores dotted all over the United States. Wal-Mart and Krogger had 2,297 and 2,477 stores respectively, as against 188 stores by Whole Foods for year ending 2006. Customers will therefore be attracted to the mainstream stores due to convenience and the fact that they have now become one-stop-shops. Secondly, retailing of organic products is experiencing...
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... For that reason, Learning Team A has chosen Whole Foods Market for Week 4’s Organizing Work assignment and will discuss the organizational structure of Whole Foods Market, Inc. and why the current organizational structure works for the organization. History of Whole Foods Market, Inc. . John Mackey and Renee Lawson Hardy founded the Whole Foods Market chain and opened the first store on September 20, 1980. Headquartered in Austin, Texas and employing over 18,500 people, it has continued to grow through its’ profitable business structure. Whole Foods Market, Incorporated is a specialty store whose mission is to provide customers with natural and organic foods. According to (Whole Foods Market, Inc, 2014) “the company recorded revenues of $12,917 million in the financial year ended September 2013 (FY2013), an increase of 10.4% over FY2012.” Whole Foods is no longer just in the United States; Whole foods Markets have expanded into Canada and the UK. Explain what work is currently being done and why it is successful. Whole Food, Inc. operates a divisional organizational structure. According to the business dictionary, a divisional organizational structure is defined as “a type of organizational structure that groups together employees who are responsible for a particular product type or market service according to workflow” (WebFinance, Inc., 2014). Utilization of the divisional organizational structure for Whole Foods, Inc. has been successful because this type of...
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...1. What are the chief elements of the strategy that Whole Foods Market is pursuing? The chief elements of the strategy that Whole Foods Market is pursing is providing the finest quality of products in the market that is free from preservatives and other genetically engineered products that reduce the quality of being organic. This means that it is has the least amounts of processed prods and are naturally preserved. Whole Foods Market strives to eventually dominate the local market and eventually the international market. They promote the vision of Whole Food, Whole People, Whole Planet. 2. Is the strategy well matched to recent developments and conditions in the natural and organic foods segment of the food retailing industry? Yes, their strategy is definitely well matched as Whole Foods focuses on supplying consumers with the healthiest products available. The products are without pesticides, hormones, and other genetically engineered products that could affect health, community, and agriculture. The quality products at Whole Foods have a flavorful taste and are preferred by the demands of health conscious consumers and the current trends of a healthy lifestyle. 3. Do you think John Mackey has a good strategic vision for Whole Foods? Why or why not? What do you like/dislike about the company’s motto “Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet?” Do the motto and theprinciples underlying it (Exhibit 1) really matter at this company or arethey just nice words and cosmetic...
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...CVS Health Summary of Industry Characteristics December 31, 2014 Summary The Food and Drug Store industry consists of stores that primarily focus on the sale of food, drugs (nonprescription and prescription), or a combination of both. Typically smaller than General Merchandisers, such as Wal-Mart, the companies in the Food and Drug Store industry provide grocery products such as cold and hot foods, pharmaceuticals, general pet care, and typical household products meant for everyday living. Stores that fall within the industry may specialize in one aspect over the other, such as CVS Health in pharmacy and health care. Even though the major products of the industry are food and drugs, there are several other minor products like health clinics and fuel centers that play an important role in the industry. Industry Sales The industry revenues can range from $139,367 Million to $14,194 Million and profits range from $4,644 Million to $113 Million, just within the companies within the Fortune 500. Their revenue is mostly derived from their sales of their inventory, no matter which side of the industry they sell from. Since most companies will use FIFO inventory methods, this helps decrease their product waste due to expiration dates and will increase their total sales and revenue. Their highest costs tend to be for plant, property, and equipment. Kroger, for example, owns a majority of the buildings where their retail stores are located and they are slowly disposing of their...
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...Whole Foods Case Analysis 1. (a) Whole Foods operates in the organic, or natural and specialty foods retail industry. Leading the industry, Whole Foods Market is the world's most successful natural foods grocery chain. Having recently acquired one of its main competitors, Wild Oats Market, Whole Foods currently competes with two other large grocery chainsKroger and Trader Joe's. The company also acquired Amrion, a company specializing in nutraceuticals (natural supplements with pharmaceutical-type benefits), creating considerable competition with General Nutrition Centers (GNC) nutritional supplements and dietary products. Additional competition is taking place in traditional grocery stores incorporating some organic products on to their shelves. 1. (b) The attractiveness of this industry and its potential for profit are functions of Michael Porter's five competitive forces model: barriers to entry, bargaining power of both suppliers and buyers, the threat of substitute products, and the depth of competition among rival companies. Barriers to Entry Currently, Whole Foods has no significant barriers to entry. Americans are becoming more food and health conscious and Whole Foods is catering to this demand by becoming the premier outlet for all-natural, organic food products, while creating a unique, cohesive brand. The company is growing a loyal customer base, and is offering the majority of its products at competitive prices. With more than 300 stores located in the US,...
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...Whole Foods Market, Inc. (Whole Foods Market or 'the company') is a natural and organic foods supermarket chain that operates through several wholly owned subsidiaries. The company's supermarkets are located in the US, Canada and the UK. It is headquartered in Austin, Texas and employs 64,200 people, of which 13,300 are part-time employees and 2,700 are temporary employees. The company recorded revenues of $10,107.8 million during the financial year ended September 2011 (FY2011), an increase of 12.2% over FY2010. The operating profit of the company was $547.6 million in FY2011, an increase of 25% over FY2010. The net profit was $342.6 million in FY2011, an increase of 42.5% over FY2010. Strengths Whole Foods Market is the world’s leading retailer of natural and organic foods and America’s first national “Certified Organic” grocer. The company is the 10th largest food retailer overall. This is an attractive company to work for as Whole Foods has been named by Fortune Magazine as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” in the U.S. for 15 consecutive years. Whole Foods has a strong focus on creating the right size for their stores. The company is focused on the right sized store for each location. Since FY2008, the company has downsized 20 leases by an average of 13,000 square feet each. They reduced approximately 1.4 million square feet from its development pipeline, downsizing 20 leases for stores in development and terminating an additional 22 leases...
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...Industries Averages and Financial Ratios Yvette Crump, Alesha Webster, Iysha Patton FIN/370 July 23, 2014 Professor Reza Rafi Just In Time Inventory Just-in-time inventory refers to an inventory management system with objectives of having inventory readily available to meet demand, but not to a point of excess where you must stockpile extra products. Companies are now equipped to pull back on stock in a given product category and ramp up inventory in another as customer needs and interests change. Inventory management has costs, and when you reduce the amount of holding space and staff required with JIT, the company can invest the savings in business growth and other opportunities, Companies may also have less likelihood of throwing out product that gets old or expires, meaning reduced waste. Just-in-time inventory is not without risks. By nature of what it is, companies using JIT intend to walk a fine line between having too much and too little inventory. If company buyers fail to adjust quickly to increased demand or if suppliers have distribution problems, the business risks upsetting customers with stock outs. If buyers over compensate and buy extra inventory to avoid stock outs, the company could experience higher inventory costs and the potential for waste. Whole Foods Market Inc. Whole Foods Market is the leading specialty foods retailer by far, but it's come under pressure over concerns about its growth. For its fiscal second quarter its same-store...
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