"Whole Foods not only survived the recession but they've thrived on it…They were able to clearly iterate their value proposition to the middle class consumer at a time when every spent dollar began to mean something again. They ramped up their own house brand offering more SKUs than ever (which kept margins high) and cut some of the more egregious prices in the store to hang on to loyal customers" (Brown 201)
Whole Foods' ethically-oriented branding has posed challenges for the company at times. It recently announced that it would become the first company to label GMOs (genetically-modified organisms), thus empowering consumer choice (Dennis 2013)
It has rapidly expanded: "the company's growth strategy is to seek new locations for its stores in highly populated, often urban, areas. Each store averages around 38,000 square feet, and about 30% of the company's stores were acquired, meaning that they were other health-food stores that were bought out and re-branded as Whole Foods" (Frankel 2013)
But many wanted Whole Foods to ban such products altogether from the store. Whole Foods also draw controversy and offended many of its customers when its libertarian, vegan CEO and founder John Mackey criticized the Affordable Care Act, stating that private companies should decide what benefits to offer employees (although Whole Foods offers generous benefits) (New 2013)
90%, the dividend reflects the good performance and a high level of profit to the company's achieved, with the revenue growth in 2013, compared to the previous year being 10.41%, and the net revenue increasing by 18.76% (MSN Money, 2014)
The sale of the goods, which is also supported by the input from employees, creates another type of output, the financial outputs. The financial outputs can be quantified by looking at the annual accounts, with the company achieving a total revenue sales of $12,917 million for the financial year that ended in 2013, and a before tax net profit of $894 million (Whole Foods Market, 2013)
The sale of the goods, which is also supported by the input from employees, creates another type of output, the financial outputs. The financial outputs can be quantified by looking at the annual accounts, with the company achieving a total revenue sales of $12,917 million for the financial year that ended in 2013, and a before tax net profit of $894 million (Whole Foods Market, 2013)
But organization history can be both an input and output. Consider the cycle that plays out as both the positive and negative performance of an organization influences the future functioning of the organization -- in essence, creating one of many chapters that will be added to the organization history over time (Burke, 2002)
The culture at Whole Foods Market is a hallmark of transparency and teamwork. The company pushes for transparency in food production, and it puts its money where its mouth is by providing a wide-open system of financial disclosure (Fishman, 2014)
Gersick (1991) referred to these internal resource factors as the "deep structure" of the organization. The scaffolding of an organization's deep structure consists of the accumulation of choices that a company has made, the outputs of which are "1) the basic parts into which its units will be organized and 2) the basic activity patterns that will maintain its existence" (Gersick, 1991, p
43. Nadler and Tushman did not identify organization history as an element that an organization produces, most likely because an organization's output is tracked by the history of the organization (Prywes, 2011)
Implementing the Strategy: Due to the recent economic recession, increased competition, and difficulties from acquisitions, there is need for Whole Foods Market to examine its costs, refocus its expansion strategies, and enhance its brand to strengthen its competitive position. As part of implementing these strategic changes, the company must keep its mission and brand value intact (Lee & Linowes, 2009)
Currently, this industry is characterized with the rapid spread of deep-discount food retailers and supercentres. The spread of the supercentres and deep-discount food retail chains changed the grocery industry that was previously dominated by supermarkets for several decades (Senauer & Seltzer, n
During this period, Whole Foods Market has grown through acquisitions and new store openings as well as expansion into Canada and across the country. The other reason attributed to the rapid growth of the firm is its increased focus on providing excellent customer service and giving back to the local and global community ("Whole Foods Market, Inc
It is also regarded as an action tool for corporations. It is recommended to map overall direction of the corporation (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2012)
SWOT Analysis: The analysis of Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats provides an overview of the company's internal as well as external factors influencing its growth and strategic positioning. The organizations analyze their current state as well as the desired state of business with the help of SWOT matrix (Lederer, Schott, Huber, & Kurz, 2013)
The herbal products are also gaining popularity. Implementation: The implementation of the strategic recommendations is required to attain desired results and continual growth (Wheelen & Hunger, 2011)
S. states and over 5 stores in the United Kingdom (Petusevsky, 2002)
Business-level strategies presently employed by competitors The competitors such as Joe's and the others are exploring the industry by applying quick expansion plans that aim at tapping the wide market available. Additionally, they are using the pricing factor to establish a strong customer trust, to ensure that they have more customers than Whole Foods Market (Denning, 2013)
Additionally, it has a long supply chain, effective communication, and innovation team and asset bank. Lastly, the organization has an increasing online growth (Ryan, 2012)