Company analysis: Whole Foods Market

Thèmes abordés

Wholde Foods Market, Marketing mix, SWOT analysis

Résumé du document

Whole Foods Market is a food products based supermarket chain which emphasizes on natural and organic products. It was founded in 1980 by John Mackey, who is today the CEO with Walter Robb.

The logo emphasizes on the green color which represents organic products and the nature;the catch phrase is "Selling the highest quality natural & organic products". It is a public company, which means that it is a company that offers its securities for sale to the general public, typically through a stock exchange, or through markets operating in over the counter markets.

Headquarters are based in Austin, Texas, U.S. The company operates 302 stores : 291 stores in 38 U.S. states and the District of Columbia ; 6 stores in Canada ; and 5 stores in the United Kingdom.It employs 54,000 persons.

We hit upon the idea to write a project about this company because we liked the concept of this grocery store which is not common in France. As French citizens, we earlier harbored a lot of prejudice about the Americans and their way of life which has turned out to be wrong since we found in this supermarket chain many organic food products and a large number of cheeses, like the Epoisses, which figures among the smelliest ones. Moreover, this firm is a great example of social business, as it is involved in many causes and represents a positive strategy regarding the future of our planet. The company is consistently ranked among the most socially responsible businesses and placed third on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's list of Top 25 Green Power Partners.

Extraits

[...] Advertisement analysis 3. Causes III. SWOT analysis A. External factors 1. Opportunities 2. Threats B. Internal factors 1. Strengths 2. Weaknesses I. History A. The founder The founder of Whole Foods Market is John Mackey. He is a business man and not an American football who have the same name. He was born in Houston in 1953. [...]

[...] Key dates 1978 : Birth John Mackey opens with his girlfriend Rene Lawson a small natural foods store. This store was called “SaferWay” in Austin. The name “SaferWay” is a spoof of Safeway. 1980 : Merger Merger between “SaferWay” and a natural Grocery Clarksville, this gives the famous name “Whole Foods Market”. 20th September 1980 : Opening of the first store “Whole foods market” It has 19 employees and an area of 12,500 feet. It is the largest natural store in the world. [...]

[...] It also helps preserving fish stocks for future generations. All these actions ensure a good corporate image, develop customer loyalty, and establish good relation with government and communities. III. SWOT analysis A. External factors 1. Opportunities The commitment to high quality natural and organic foods leads to higher prices than non organic and natural foods. As the world is becoming more aware of how important it is to eat healthy, Whole Foods need to be there to pull those consumers in to the stores. [...]

[...] In that time Whole Foods Market didn't have insurance. 1984 : First expansion Whole Foods Market expanses its activities in Houston and Dallas, and then in New Orleans. 1989 : West Coast Many stores open in the sun region. The company own 100 stores in the USA. 2001 : The big Apple The company moves in Manhattan city. 2002 : International expansion Stores are opening in Canada, especially in Toronto and Ontario. These stores will know a great success in the country. [...]

[...] These stores have copied the atmospherics and some of the food items sold by Whole Foods Market. The economic situation in the US is a threat due to Americans' desire to save money and that means groceries. Food is expensive and Americans' don't see the cost effectiveness of purchasing organic food. B. Internal factors 1. Strengths Whole Foods Market owns and operates a chain of natural and organic foods supermarkets through several wholly-owned subsidiaries. The company's supermarkets are located in the US, Canada, and the UK. [...]