Whole Foods Market (Essay Sample)

Whole Foods Market
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods Market is the leading retailer of organic and natural foods in the U.S. The store is located in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom where it has over 330 stores (Hellriegel & Slocum Jr, 2011). The store owns various facilities that include commissary kitchens, distribution centres, coffee roasting operations, retail centres and seafood facilities among others. Whole foods market emphasizes on quality to its customers to ensure safety and healthy lifestyles among its customers. This value has further been promoted by the current CEO of Whole Foods, John Mackey who is known to be a pro-customer and strives to ensure the stores quality standards met (Hellriegel & Slocum Jr, 2011). Mackay has vowed to change the health and eating habits of the next generation through the provision of fresh and quality organic products that reduce cases of obesity, cancer and high blood pressure.
Problem
Despite being a leader in the organic and natural foods market, Whole Foods is now facing stiff competition from other market participants. Stores such as Wild Oats Market, Trader Joe’s, and Sprouts Farmers are some of the retailers that offer Whole Foods stiff competition. Furthermore, Whole Foods Market also faces competition from convenience stores such as Walmart and Safeway, which have entered into the business of selling organic products.
Criteria/ Options
Whole Foods has to analyse the different options available to it to beat the competition that is threatening its position as the market leader in the organic products business. First, Whole Foods has the option of creating a rewards program for customers aimed at maintaining the current customer base (Kotler & Armstrong, 2012). The second option is for Whole Foods to reduce the stock of perishable products that lead to losses in inventory. The third option for the retailer is to increase the target audience through by offering low-cost products to attract low-income customers.
The options of the company were measured for suitability based on the competitive advantage they create, increased profits, customer satisfaction and return on investment (Kotler & Armstrong, 2012). Creating a reward system will lead to improved customer satisfaction and competitive advantage. However, the program does not result in significant profits or return on investment. Increasing the target audience, however, increases the return on investment and customer satisfaction. The profits and the competitive advantage also become relatively higher (Kotler & Armstrong, 2012). Reducing the level of perishable products increases the return on investment and the profits. However, the customer satisfaction and the competitive advantage are relatively lower.
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