Case
Erica Cooper
BUAD 351
Dr. Adigun Kazeem
July 16, 2013
Case 5.1: Panera Bread: Occupying a Favorable Position in a Highly Competitive Industry In this case, the food industry were facing threats to industry profitability. Despite these threats, one restaurant chain is moving forward in a very positive direction. Panera Bread, a chain of specialty bakery-cafes that has grown from 602 company-owned and franchised units in 2003 to 1,450 today. In 2010 and 2009 combines sales jumped to 10.1 percent. These numbers reflected a strong performance for a restaurant chain, particularly during a difficult economic period. Panera Bread’s company flourished while its industry as a whole is experiencing difficulty. Panera Bread’s success can be explained in two words: positioning and execution.
Panera Bread was first found in 1981 under the name of Au Bon Pain Co. and consisted of three Au Bon Pain bakery-cafes and one cookie store. The company grew slowly until the mid-1990 when it acquired Saint Louis Bread Company, a chain of 20 bakery-cafes located in the St. Louis area. Around that time the owners of the companies observed that people were increasingly looking for products that were “special”. Basically that were a departure from run-of-the-mill restaurant food. They also noticed that consumers wanted good food served quickly in an enjoyable environment. As a result of changing these consumer taste, a new category emerged in the restaurant industry called “fast casual”. This category provided consumers the alternative they wanted by capturing the advantage of both the fast-food category (speed) and the casual dining category (good-food) , with no significant disadvantages. The owners of Au Bon Pain and St. Louis Bread Company felt they could pioneer this new category so they repositioned their restaurants and named them Panera Bread. To establish itself as the leader in the fast casual category and to distinguish itself from its rivals. Panera added a bonus to
BUAD 351
Dr. Adigun Kazeem
July 16, 2013
Case 5.1: Panera Bread: Occupying a Favorable Position in a Highly Competitive Industry In this case, the food industry were facing threats to industry profitability. Despite these threats, one restaurant chain is moving forward in a very positive direction. Panera Bread, a chain of specialty bakery-cafes that has grown from 602 company-owned and franchised units in 2003 to 1,450 today. In 2010 and 2009 combines sales jumped to 10.1 percent. These numbers reflected a strong performance for a restaurant chain, particularly during a difficult economic period. Panera Bread’s company flourished while its industry as a whole is experiencing difficulty. Panera Bread’s success can be explained in two words: positioning and execution.
Panera Bread was first found in 1981 under the name of Au Bon Pain Co. and consisted of three Au Bon Pain bakery-cafes and one cookie store. The company grew slowly until the mid-1990 when it acquired Saint Louis Bread Company, a chain of 20 bakery-cafes located in the St. Louis area. Around that time the owners of the companies observed that people were increasingly looking for products that were “special”. Basically that were a departure from run-of-the-mill restaurant food. They also noticed that consumers wanted good food served quickly in an enjoyable environment. As a result of changing these consumer taste, a new category emerged in the restaurant industry called “fast casual”. This category provided consumers the alternative they wanted by capturing the advantage of both the fast-food category (speed) and the casual dining category (good-food) , with no significant disadvantages. The owners of Au Bon Pain and St. Louis Bread Company felt they could pioneer this new category so they repositioned their restaurants and named them Panera Bread. To establish itself as the leader in the fast casual category and to distinguish itself from its rivals. Panera added a bonus to