Whole Foods description and generic strategy

Whole Foods was established in 1980 after the merger between Safeway store and Clarksville Natural Grocery. The company’s expansion strategy began in 1984 when it started acquiring other existing food chains.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Whole Foods description and generic strategy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In 2004, the company managed to enter the United Kingdom market and consequently acquired quite a good number of food chains. Before the close of 2008, Whole Foods established more food chains although some of them were closed down after a short duration. It is worth to mention that Whole Foods is one the leading organic and natural foods supermarkets across the globe. The high performance level of the company is linked to the company’s mission statement which entails the provision of products that enhance the overall wellbeing and vitality of its customers. The latter has been att ained by ensuring that customers are supplied with the highest quality products. The aspiration of the company is to achieve international recognition by producing unique organic and natural foods and also increasing its retail outlets. The company’s expansion strategy The expansion strategy of the company focuses on increasing supply in order to help the company meet the growing demand for both the natural and organic foods. The increasing demand is attributed to the entry of new buyers in the marketplace. In order to achieve the desired level of expansion, the company has continued to invest substantial level of resources in different areas especially in political reforms. This is due to the current regulations from the government that restricts the quantity of organic farming. Moreover, the level of research and development that focuses on the production of staple organic products has also been intensified. The company also puts a lot of emphasis on the placement as an exp ansion technique. Whole Foods targets customers with income levels that are above average and also ensures that its stores are placed in areas where almost half the residents have at least some college education. The company believes that such a population is in a vantage position to support healthy, environmental, and nutritional values. The current number of distribution stores and retails outlets is an indication that the company is performing considerably well in its operations. In order for the company to achieve the desired growth levels, there is great need to continue investing in both sales and financial research. This is based on the fact that any given company should not merely focus on education level and income when expanding its operations. Whole Food’s key strength or weakness, opportunity or threat, that justifies why the expansion strategy should be continued A major strength lies in the company’s ability to provide quality and high standard products. Customers who purchase natural and organic foods from the company are guaranteed high levels of satisfaction. In addition, the company enjoys a strong company management equipped with economic value and improved systems for providing employees with incentives. These strengths are very helpful to the company as it undertakes its expansion strategy.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Giving incentives to employees serves as one way of motivating them since it increases their participation in expanding the company’s operations. However, it is vital to note that the company’s effort to expand is likely to be hindered due to the high prices charged on some of the products. In order to overcome this weakness, the management should explain why some of the products are more expensive than others. This will make customers to remain loyal to the company. The expansion of Whole Foods is also justified based due to the fact that the company has a very attractive market share and also holds a strong position within the targeted market. This implies that it is capable of realizing a more profitable and stronger position by expanding to new markets. The company’s key opportunities include increased recognition within the organic or health food industry, and brand image enhancement within the surrounding community. By continuing the expansion strategy, Whole Foods can increase the level of its sales and increase demand for its products by attracting new customers. In addition, the company finds it easy to promote the organic foods while enhancing the brand loyalty and image. It is highly likely that Whole Foods will continue to expand in other areas and consequently increase its profitability and market share. On the other hand, Whole Foods faces key threats such as increased supply of organic food substitutes from the local grocers and high pri ces on some of the company’s products. This means that it is necessary for the company to come up with appropriate strategies that may help it to retain its current customers and attract new ones. By so doing, it will be possible for the company to continue with its expansion programs. In my view, I believe that Whole Foods is justified to continue with its current expansion strategy since it enjoys significant strengths and opportunities that give it a competitive power over other players in the same industry. However, the company should address the key weaknesses and threats that are likely to affect its expansion strategy. For instance, Whole Foods can gain significantly by reducing the price of some of its products alongside improving quality. This prevents customers from shifting their interests to other competitors. This case study on Whole Foods description and generic strategy was written and submitted by user Tate D. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Barnes Noble Nook Essays

Barnes Noble Nook Essays Barnes Noble Nook Essay Barnes Noble Nook Essay Marketing Strategy Strategic Situation Summary: Market Target(s) Description: Barnes Noble Nook 1. Market Segments Identified- Middle-Upper Class, educated, moderate- high income, heavy internet user 2. Primary Market- Business travelers Percent More Likely Than Average U. S. Adult to†¦. Have accessed the Internet outside the home via WiFi or wireless connection (in last 30 days): 199% Have household income of $100,000 or more annually: 87% Have accessed the Internet with a cell phone or other mobile device (in last 30 days): 154% Be a Heavy Internet User: 116% Have a Bachelor’s or Post-Graduate Degree: 111% Be between the ages of 35-54: 20% Be male: 16% 3. Secondary Market- Education- High School students, College Undergraduates 4. Market Characteristics a. Geographic- Suburban – travel to cities for work or school b. Demographic- The following is a survey conducted for Nook Owners’ age distribution from 111 Nook owners 7. 21% Nook Owners between 10 and 19   8 out of 111. 21. 62% Nook owners between 20-29 – 24  out of 111. 17. 11% of Nook owners between 30-39 – 19  out of 111. 22. 52% of Nook owners are between 40-49 – 25 out of 111. 18. 1% of Nook owners are between  50-59 – 20  out of 111. 11. 71% of Nook owners are between 60-69 – 13  out of 111. Just 1 nook owner between 70-79. Just 1 nook owner between 80-89. c. Psychographic- Personality: Values: Primary Motivation: Ideals: Self-expression: Resources: d. Behavioral- User-status: Usage-rate: Purchase-occasion: Benefits sought: Objectives for the Market Target(s): Marketing Program Positioning Strategy: A. Product Strategy a. New Products b. Product Improvements: Incremental I nnovation NOOKstudy i. It will allow the student instant downloads for academic ebooks. It will allow students to search for keywords in lecture notes, syllabuses and more. ii. Its a desktop app that will work on Macs and PCs. When installed, it provides students with access to a wide library of textbooks for less than standard books. iii. Furthermore, the app will enable students to highlight and take notes that are searchable and customizable, and provide students access to all of their materials – eTextbooks, lecture notes, syllabi, slides, images, and other course-related documents – all in one place. Their digital library will be able to go from home, to the library, and to the classroom. B. Distribution Strategy C. Price Strategy: a. Of the 181 million US consumers who are online, 14%, or 25 million consumers, say that eReaders priced at $199 or higher - the current price range for eReaders - are expensive, but they’d still consider them for purchase at that price point. What this means: The maximum addressable market for eReaders as they are currently priced is substantial, but to reach the largest market possible, the prices will need to come down. Still, they have phenomenal social and economic impact as they catalyze a new behavior of digital reading across multiple devices. We’re just at the beginning of this revolution. [pic] D. Promotion Strategy a. Advertising i. Banner ads inside books. The average U. S. adult reads four books a year; with a population of 250 million you get 1 billion books digested annually. At 200 pages per book, thats 200 billion potential ad impressions if just one ad was placed at the bottom of each page. Now, charge a $20 CPM for such premium placement and you have just unlocked a $4 billion advertising market. This concept can extend to college textbooks with coupons for partners, such as Starbucks Coffee. ii. Readers give advertisers more consumer attention because readers cannot easily surf away to other websites. Advertisers would win higher response rates because the ads are much more noticeable and could be contextually targeted to content and the users personal information disclosed by their book purchases. b. Publicity c. Internet d. Personal Selling e. Sales Promotion i. Visit any Barnes Noble store and show y our NOOK or mobile device to one of our booksellers, and receive a voucher for the FREE eBook. The voucher will require recipients to enter an online code to receive the free eBook. This will create more movement to the website and to promote other product offerings. E. Marketing Research F. Coordination with Other Business Functions [pic] Mediamark says there are approximately 2. 1 million US adults who own eReaders. Available this week, the new Nook WiFi device is priced at just US$149. The price on the existing Nook 3G, meanwhile, was slashed from $259 to $199, making it the first under-$200 dedicated e-reader with both free 3G wireless and WiFi, according to the company. Barnes Noble now offers all Nook users complimentary access to ATTs (NYSE: T) entire nationwide WiFi network. Its eBookstore now boasts more than one million e-books, periodicals and other digital content, the company said. Under-$200 is always a new product categorys sweet spot, and BN is probably selling the Nook at a slim margin or even a loss in order to gain market share and brand share in the digital book distribution world. Price, meanwhile, is a very important factor in that competition particularly the sub-$200 price point, which is psychologically very important for consumer adoption, she asserted. Any time you deflate the margin on a product by merely adjusting price, it has consequences to the bottom line, he explained. Another option to just dropping price would have been to add a coupon for up to $50 worth of content; this would have fulfilled the urge to drop price however would have kept topline revenue flat. Style: The Nook has a color menu, whereas the entire Kindle display is focused on black and white, he explained. The Nook is lighter. The Nook is now cheaper and the Nook is a little more aesthetically appealing. Potential Target Markets Specifically, individuals interested in a very focused reading experience are one; the education market is another, she pointed out. If device manufacturers and educational and professional publishers are successful at getting that constituency, we think e-readers will be able to hold their own against media tablets, Kevorkian said noting, however, that while theres great potential, it has yet to be realized. A total of 7. 6 million media tablets, including the iPad, will ship worldwide in 2010, growing to 46. 7 million units in 2014, IDC has forecast. The e-reader category, on the other hand including both connected e-readers and USB-enabled ones will ship 6. million worldwide this year, the company predicted, increasing to just over 9 million in 2012 before declining to 7. 9 million in 2014, Kevorkian noted. NOOK for Android-based smartphones and device s. The new application offers those with devices using Android OS 1. 6 and higher the ability to shop Barnes Nobles expansive eBookstore of more than one million eBooks The new Android app is also the first eReader software to feature Barnes Nobles new NOOK-centric branding, leveraging the strength of the companys NOOK brand across its entire eReading offering. The new eReader software branding aligns with the companys current NOOK offering NOOK 3G and NOOK Wi-Fi eBook Readers, and the recently announced NOOKstudy online study platform and software solution for higher education. NOOK for Android will soon be followed by an updated NOOK for iPhone, NOOK for iPad, and others in the coming months, the company noted. Barnes Noble is diving deeper into the education market with an expected August release of NOOKstudy which will run on Macs and PCs and not require a NOOK or any other mobile device. NOOKstudy will act as a hub for eTextbook, class notes, syllabi, scanned handouts, and even non-educational eBooks. It will allow students to take notes as well as highlight passages in eTextbooks. Users will also be able to tag items for easy retrieval using common terms like: for the final exam. It will provide full searches of anything, in the eTextbooks or your notes, and link into Google or Dictionary. com to look up terms. Multiple eTextbooks can be opened at the same time, or two pages from ifferent sources can be simultaneously displayed. The program is currently being piloted at Penn State, University of Nevada, Queensborough Community College, and the Rochester Institute of Technology. Barnes Noble’s ability to market the Nook through its bricks-and-mortar stores, along with the comparative newness of the device, were keys to that competitive edge. Under the terms of the Best Buy agreement, the Nook’s e-reader software will come pre-loaded on a number of PCs and smartphones sold through the retailer. Both Barnes Noble and Amazon have focused on porting e-reader applications onto a number of devices, including ostensible rival iPad, in a bid to increase the potential audience for their proprietary e-books. Barnes Noble announced a software update for its Nook e-reader, including a Web browser and Android-based games, on April 23. Another feature, â€Å"Read In Store,† allows Nook users to browse the retailer’s e-books for free at any Barnes Noble bookstore, with the entirety of each book accessible for an hour. NOOK Wi-Fi eBook Reader marries innovative technology and sleek minimalist design with Wi-Fi connectivity. This latest addition to the NOOK family gives customers the opportunity to take advantage of the proliferation of both in-home and public Wi-Fi hotspots, where they can browse the Web and shop the Barnes Noble eBookstore of more than one million eBooks, periodicals and other digital content. With its latest software update for all NOOK devices (now available at www. nook. com/update), Barnes Noble is offering all NOOK customers complimentary access to ATTs entire nationwide Wi-Fi network, including Barnes Noble bookstores which have previously been available to NOOK customers. As part of the NOOK eBook Reader family, NOOK Wi-Fi features Barnes Noble’s breakthrough LendMe technology, enabling customers to share eBooks with friends for up to 14 days. NOOK Wi-Fi also offers the same great in-store features like Read In Store to browse complete eBooks in Barnes Noble stores at no cost, and More In Store, offering free, exclusive content and special promotions. http://floridaresearchgroup. wordpress. com/2010/02/16/demographics-of-kindle-a

By studying the particular situation in somalia,illustrate how poverty Essay - 1

By studying the particular situation in somalia,illustrate how poverty links with conflict and vice versa ,and suggest ways in which international organisations can help realistically and effectively - Essay Example This led to a period when the country underwent a form of decentralization as independent regional governments were formed in the North by different groups (Thomashausen, 2002). The war against the ruling Somali government began near the end of the 1970s when the then socialist government began seeking out individuals suspected of taking part in the attempted coup dà ©tat of 1978 and executing them. Though the government captured many of these individuals who were military and government officials, a number of them managed to escape and flee the country (Degu, 2007). These ex officials began to form the first dissident groups that were determined to see Major General Mohamed Siad Barre, the leader of the government removed from power even if it meant the use of force. The demise of the ruling government and its army was the source of a power vacuum that was left as a result, and the main cause for the civil war that ensued thereafter as the different factions that had fought together to oust the Major general now fought with one another as each tried to assume control of essential regions most notably, the country’s capital (Thomashausen, 2002). Groups that had once been allies turned into foes as they failed to see eye to eye and agree over who should assume control from the fallen general leading to bloody clashes in which countless of innocent lives were lost in the process as they were caught up in between the warring factions. Though the conflict existed before this time, the main focus will be on the war from 1991 onwards for the purpose of this essay. In the year 1992, the United Nations decided to become involved in the civil war through helping those who were affected by it via providing human relief to those who were affected as well as help restore order in the country. One of the ways in which the UN strived to achieve these objectives was