Whole Foods

Whole Foods Market in 2010:

Vision, Care Values, and Strategy.

Strategic Management 4315 Section 01

Executive Summary

Whole Foods is an organic food store that has a strong brand and stakeholder loyalty. They have an aggressive growth strategy, which in the past has included purchasing their competitors. They have however changed their expansion plans due to the following factors: Federal Trade Commission investigation into the possible monopolistic control of the market, lowered discretionary consumer spending because of slowly recovering economy, and store conditions in purchased entities. A few additional factors were the concerns of location and the success of each location. Increasing concerns from shareholders in the stopping of dividend payments have also caused some concerns for Whole Foods’ growth.

The CEO and management team strongly support the Whole Foods culture. Their mission statement of “Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet” has expanded throughout the whole company. This is accomplished by providing higher than average living wages as well as benefits to their employees. Also, the fact that the company has many ties to organic farmers and “sustainable” gathering of food stocks. By showing their concern for high quality organic foods and environmentally friendly business practices, the company keeps stakeholder confidence high.

By focusing on a slower growth strategy, Whole Foods can keep their brand esteem high. By resuming the paying out of dividends, they will return shareholder confidence. If Whole Foods sticks to the strategy of building the proposed stores, the company can ensure that the stores they open will continue with the previous growth that has been experienced. Keeping an eye on their competitors in the market will also enable them to react to changes in their markets.

Strategic Profile and Case Analysis Profile

Whole Foods Market is a prominent food retailer known for its superb food and community...