Whole Foods Case Analysis Essay

Whole Foods Market has a company wide philosophy of spreading awareness about their point of views concerning environmental sustainability, quality standards, animal welfare, and commitment to bettering the planet. The German culture encourages progressive acts of affection that conveniences the prosperity of the developing world. (Whole Foods Market, Missions and Values)

It was a huge hit because there are less than six organic grocery stores in the nation. Knowing his vision well, John Mackey, the main founder put his dream into action. He used his ability as a connector, someone who has broad social network, to integrate others people’s ideas. Soon, expansion came to place starting from Dallas to New Orleans. In order to guarantee each store’s success, he did thorough research on social class, eating habit, and supply and demand. He took his action deliberately.

Collectively they make decisions on strategy, finances and any other of the organization's affairs. John Mackey, CEO, admits he's not the only person in the organization calling the shots. "I've made a valuable contribution to Whole Foods, but so have thousands of other people," Mackey said in an interview with the American-Statesman. "That's one of our secrets, is the fact that we do really have a team approach to the organization, an empowerment approach." (Gaar, 2010)

Whole Foods has many important values. For example, they believe that their customers are the most important stakeholders and the lifeblood of their business.[8] Whole Foods has five major stakeholders; John Mackey (CEO), James Sud, Glenda Chamberlain, Walter Robb, and John Elstrott.[9] Whole Foods selectively chose where to do business based on their average customer. Whole Foods knows that its products are for health and food enthusiasts.[10]

Whole Foods Market, Inc. has long been admired as an innovative company with quality standards, a devotion to community and environmental responsiveness, a healthy growth model and highly-regarded employment practices. However, the company has faced recent difficulties as a result of the economic recession, increasing competition, and complications from acquisitions. To revitalize the company from historical lows in its toughest year in history, Whole Foods Market must reassess its costs, refocus its expansion strategies, and promote its brand to compete for the diminishing consumer spending dollar.

Whole Foods is a supermarket that has successfully become the leader in the organic food segment of the grocery industry. While traditional markets have low brand loyalty and recognition, Whole Foods has focused almost entirely on its brand image, causing their strategy to be one of differentiation over cost leadership. Whole Foods is known as being far more expensive than other chains, due to this brand recognition. In their press release for the Q4 2014 results, they describe their vision and sum up what helps them develop that brand recognition. “We hold the idea of “food” to a higher standard, banning more than 75 ingredients commonly found in other stores, and we believe our unparalleled quality standards

Barbara Farfan (n.d.) explains that, “Whole Foods Core Values define how Whole Foods leaders and employees interact with their products, customers, employee team, shareholders, communities, suppliers, and align everyone behind the mission of improving health in general.” For example, Whole Foods believes in satisfying their consumers by selling the highest quality of natural and organic products obtainable. The company strives to maintain the highest standards of quality, not only in the products they offer but in supporting excellence in the development their employees, communities, and the environment. Whole Foods direct core values as listed on the company website (2015 Whole Foods Market IP. L.P.), also

Whole Food goes by a management philosophy called conscious capitalism meaning "the ethical treatment of customers, employees, and the environment is the main mission and basis for organizational culture (Cheretis& Mujtaba 2014,p.7)." This is a management philosophy that was created by the CEO of Whole Foods, John Mackey. The philosophy was made to empower people, which is the customer, employer and investors. The three aspects will improve socialism as a whole. It's a win-win for the entire system and he value that is shown to employees in this system ignites enthusiasm to work. It’s just a trickle-down effect for the customer to feel valued and profit begins for the shareholder. People is what makes a successful business and Mackey shows

In order to achieve success, the first thing any business needs to consider is a proper, strategic business model, which is a concise description of how a business intends to generate revenue. Whole Foods' business model consists of maintaining the motivation along with the happiness of their team members which leads to efficient innovation and customer service. This process allows Whole Foods to give back to their communities, resulting in motivated investors, high quality products, and good value. Whole Foods appears to follow a strong business model, yet the key to their success relies on their competitive advantage in the market place. Any company is capable of holding a competitive advantage as long as the company or product provides

Whole Foods Market, Inc. which is headquartered in Austin, Texas, is an American foods supermarket chain it was founded by John Mackey who currently serves as the CEO of Whole Foods. To sum up their mission and vision statement, Whole foods as a company strives to help out in promoting positive health and well-being of people, this includes team-members, customers and the whole planet in general. Some of their core values include:

* In 1996 Whole Foods Markets acquires Fresh Field Markets picking up 22 stores located on the east coast and Chicago area for 4.8 million shares of common stock and an option for 549,000 additional shares. (Thompson, 2010; C-13)

Satisfy and Delight customers are the most important core value of Whole Foods. Why is this so important? Reputation! One thing the company has over competitors is their reputation. All of the products in the store are guaranteed 100% satisfaction. This shows customers that their product is the best on the market. Customer Service goes a long way with reputation. For example when a customer wants to know where to find a product: Team members would take the customer to the product and on the way making conversation or answering questions. They are only one of the few store chains that provide natural and organic products, which makes their big name more recognizable. They offer a unique product that is demanded by the public.

Whole Foods Market first opened on September 20, 1980 in Austin, Texas which is the company headquarters. The founders were John Mackey, Renee Lawson, Craig Weller, and Mark Skiles. These four business people decided that the natural food industry was ready for a supermarket format (Whole Foods Market History, 2015). The current CEO’s are John Mackey and Walter Robb IV. Whole Foods Market stock ticker symbol is WFM and their NACIS code is 445110 (Morningstar). The industry sector the company is listed under is grocery store and retail trade. Whole Foods Market is the eight largest company in the United States with 427 stores located in North America, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The total number of employees is more than 90,000 people. Whole Foods Market has a business to business model where they merged with multiple companies such as Bread of Life, Fresh Fields, Food for Thought, Amrion, Allegro Coffee and other organizations with the concept of expanding their enterprise (Mackey, 2012). Whole Foods Markets purchase inventory from suppliers where consumer can buy fresh organic food online or in stores. Some of the products Whole Foods Market specializes in are seafood, meats, cooked goods, and bakery goods (Whole Foods Market History, 2015).

Whole Foods Market has expanded by a mixture of opening its own new stores and acquiring already existing stores. Today WFM does not follow this strategy, instead their motivation is to open its own large stores. This is due to noticeable sales differences in larger stores as opposed to smaller stores. WFM locates these newer stores in upscale areas of urban metropolitan centers and high-traffic shopping locations. Not all WFMs are isolated structures; some are located in strip malls. WFM offers a larger selection of natural and organic foods than any other grocery store. WFMs marketing expenditure is extremely small. They spend a measly 0.5% of their revenues on advertising. Their chief marketing strategy relies on word-of-mouth. WFM strives to meet or exceed customer expectations. This is so customers receive competent, knowledgeable, and friendly service and become advocates of WFM. The employees here have a decentralized team approach for store operations. This is so some personnel, merchandising, and operating

Whole Foods Market began in 1970 as a local supermarket. Over the past 31 years, Whole Foods Market has grown from a single store in Austin, Texas, to becoming one of the worldwide leaders in providing consumers with natural and organic foods. They have grown to over 300 stores in both North America and the United Kingdom. (Whole Foods Market, Inc., 2011) This report examines the chief elements of the strategy that Whole Foods Market has put into place. Also, it uses past financial data to provide an assessment of the condition of the company going forward. Those assessments include recommendations of future actions, along with concerns I have about the way the company is currently operating and some difficulties that may be on the way.