The strategy of the "Panera Bread" bakery-cafe

Résumé du document

Panera Bread is a "bakery-cafe" that was born from its parent concern "Saint Louis Bread Company". The firm has quickly succeeded to become one of the leaders of the US fast-casual restaurant sector. In an industry characterized by very aggressive competition, Panera Bread's key success has been its competitive strategy that provides several competitive advantages. The group aims to have about 2000 cafes by the end of this year.
The general strategy is to make good bread that is broadly available to consumers across the US. Before we discuss about the competitive strategy chosen by Panera Bread which provides the brand its competitive advantages, let's see the crucial points of the general strategy.

The strategy of the marketing department was to insist on the dining experience more than on the price. The aim was to convince the consumer that when you eat in a Panera Bread bakery cafe, it is good value for money, in addition to providing high and healthy quality food for reasonable prices.

Extraits

[...] The 17 regional fresh dough facilities allows the firm to manufacture fresh dough and then laterto supply this dough daily every day to all the bakery cafes. And Panera Bread Company performs better this activity more effectively than its rivals. So, it is realreal resource strength. But the constant innovation in his its offering and products is also another distinctive competence. This innovation allows the firm to propose evolutive innovative menus and keep them attractive. And Panera Bread is better than its rivals on menu evolution and attractiveness. [...]

[...] Panera Bread performs better this activity better than the others in the field. This core competence is the source of success in the marketplace of Panera Bread. Theis core competence enables the is the company to skills in manufacture ing a high healthy quality product at a reasonable cost. Moreover, the production of artisan bread is knowledge-based,based; it resides in the how-knowhow of the trained bakers. This artisan fresh dough making is a real special capability that gives competitive advantages by ensuring good quality. [...]

[...] This that is why Panera Bread always does previous specific research before opening a cafe. Those researches will give a precise idea about the possible return on investment. Then, the choice of opening the new cafe on question can be makingfinalised. The generic competitive strategy, which most closely fits the competitive approach that Panera Bread is taking, is called the “Broad differentiation strategy”. The firm's goal is to provide a premium specialty bakery and a cafe experience to urban workers and suburban dwellers. [...]

[...] But Panera Bread Company has also big competitors in the fast food restaurants industry like Mc Donald's, Quick, KFC, Pizzaand Pizza Huts. It has to devise innovative strategies to balance and survive in such a market condition . - How to keep the customer loyal? Having loyal customers is reassuring for a firm because it shows that the customer is satisfied. Moreover, the loyal customer talks about the quality of Panera Bread in his circle of family and friends. - How to improve the broad differentiation strategy used by Panera Bread? [...]

[...] These competences add adequate power to the company's strategy. The company's weaknesses and competitive deficiencies are can be readily easily modified and converted into possible strengths. correctable. We can say that the company's resource strengths and competitive capabilities outweigh its resource weaknesses and competitive deficiencies. As seen in the SWOT analysis, we can say that Panera Bread has attractive market opportunities that are well suited to its resource strengths and competitive capabilities. The threats aren't so alarming and Panera Bread could surely defend against them. [...]