Panara Bread's
| “Panera Bread Company in 2011: Pursuing growth in a difficult economy." | | Module II |
| “Panera Bread Company in 2011: Pursuing growth in a difficult economy." | | Module II |
MGT 495
March 30, 2013
Nate Huffman 127203
MGT 495
March 30, 2013
Nate Huffman 127203
Table of Contents
What are the strategy elements of Panera Bread Company? How well do the pieces fit together?
The two best indicators of how well a company’s strategy is working are whether the company is recording gains in financial strength and profitability and secondly whether the company’s competitive strength and market standing is improving. Other indicators of how well a company’s strategy is working include, trends in the company’s sales and earnings growth, trends in the company’s stock price, the company’s overall financial strength, the rate at which new customers are acquired, and finally changes in the company’s image and reputation with customers, (70). Management’s long-term objective and strategic intent was to make Panera Bread a nationally recognized brand name and to be the dominant restaurant operator in upscale, quick-service dining. Top management believed that success depended on “being better than the guys across the street” and making the experience of dining at Panera so attractive that customers would be willing to pass by the outlets of other fast-casual restaurant competitors to dine at a nearby Panera Bread bakery-café. Panera management’s blueprint for attracting and retaining customers was called Concept Essence. Concept Essence underpinned Panera’s strategy and embraced several themes that, taken together, acted to differentiate Panera from its competitors, (333).
Panera Bread’s menu, store design and ambience, and unit location strategies enabled it to compete successfully in multiple segments of the restaurant business: breakfast, a.m. “chill” (when customers visited to take a break from morning hour activities), lunch,
| “Panera Bread Company in 2011: Pursuing growth in a difficult economy." | | Module II |
MGT 495
March 30, 2013
Nate Huffman 127203
MGT 495
March 30, 2013
Nate Huffman 127203
Table of Contents
What are the strategy elements of Panera Bread Company? How well do the pieces fit together?
The two best indicators of how well a company’s strategy is working are whether the company is recording gains in financial strength and profitability and secondly whether the company’s competitive strength and market standing is improving. Other indicators of how well a company’s strategy is working include, trends in the company’s sales and earnings growth, trends in the company’s stock price, the company’s overall financial strength, the rate at which new customers are acquired, and finally changes in the company’s image and reputation with customers, (70). Management’s long-term objective and strategic intent was to make Panera Bread a nationally recognized brand name and to be the dominant restaurant operator in upscale, quick-service dining. Top management believed that success depended on “being better than the guys across the street” and making the experience of dining at Panera so attractive that customers would be willing to pass by the outlets of other fast-casual restaurant competitors to dine at a nearby Panera Bread bakery-café. Panera management’s blueprint for attracting and retaining customers was called Concept Essence. Concept Essence underpinned Panera’s strategy and embraced several themes that, taken together, acted to differentiate Panera from its competitors, (333).
Panera Bread’s menu, store design and ambience, and unit location strategies enabled it to compete successfully in multiple segments of the restaurant business: breakfast, a.m. “chill” (when customers visited to take a break from morning hour activities), lunch,