Case #1: Whole Foods Market Inc.
Whole Foods Market was founded in Austin, Texas. 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. Today, it becomes the world’s leader in natural and organic foods, with approximately 52,900 employees, and more than 275 stores in North America and the United Kingdom. Whole Foods Markets’ sales have grown rapidly through new store openings, acquisitions and comparable store sales growth, from approximately $92 million in fiscal year 1991, to approximately $8.0 billion in fiscal year 2008, a compounded annual growth rate of about 30%.
Whole Foods Market is the world’s leading supermarket emphasizing natural and organic foods and America’s first national “Certified Organic” grocer. Their core mission is devoted to the promotion of organically grown foods, food safety concerns, and the sustainability of their entire ecosystem. Therefore, we know that one of their strengths is organic differentiation. They are highly selective about what they sell; they guaranteed 100 percent satisfaction on all items purchased. For their employees, they believe in providing an empowering work environment for their team members, they empower them to make many operational decisions, creating a respectful workplace where team members are treated fairly and are highly motivated to succeed. Accordingly, we simplify the strengths of Whole Foods Market are Organic market leader, Finest quality of goods, Well trained staff with specialized skills, and Value price private-labels. The weaknesses could be Premium prices and High cost in expansion.
The organic foods market is very attractive and continuing to increase in attractiveness. Whole Foods holds a very strong position in the market and could potentially position themselves in an even stronger and more profitable position. Health and organic...