Whole Foods, Case Study Example

The objective of this work in writing is to examine Whole Foods business strategy, possible strategic issues and to make recommendations for each issue present. Whole Foods was founded in 1980 as a local source for natural and health foods. Whole Foods is now reported as the largest chain of natural and organic supermarkets throughout the world with sales of $8 billion in 2009 and 289 stores located in the U.S., Great Britain, and Canada. (Thompson, 2010, paraphrased) Whole Foods business strategy is quite successful and is based on the company having “remained a uniquely mission-drive company” which is reported as being “highly selective” in the food products that are sold by the company in that Whole Foods is committed to the company’s core values and “stringent quality standards, and committed to sustainable agriculture.” (Thompson, 2010) Part of Whole Food’s Mission and overall business strategy is obtaining its products locally throughout the world. In addition, the company’s recruitment practices and environmental accountability make this company unique. A strategic issue that the company is likely to face over the next several years is the global food crisis that is occurring across the globe. This will result in Whole Foods facing strategic issues in regards to procuring local food products in some areas of the world. The company could well mitigate this potential problem through empowering local growers worldwide so that the present food supply on the local level stays available to supply Whole Foods with the necessary food products for the company to continue business-as-usual during the present and growing food crisis. Empowering local growers will entail a financial commitment from Whole Foods to support local growers during the present global economic downturn however, the rewards will be realized in the future by the company as its business continues to grow and expand globally.

Bibliography

Global Food Crisis (2012) Brookings Institute. 8 Mar. Retrieved from: http://www.brookings.edu/topics/global-food-crisis.aspx

Mirow, Thomas (2011) Helping Food Producers Weather the Storm. 28 June. Retrieved from: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/d36da6fc-9d00-11e0-8678-00144feabdc0,dwp_uuid=a955630e-3603-11dc-ad42-0000779fd2ac,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2Fd36da6fc-9d00-11e0-8678-00144feabdc0%2Cdwp_uuid%3Da955630e-3603-11dc-ad42-0000779fd2ac.html&_i_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Ffoodprices#axzz1od53bden

On the Verge of A Global Food Crisis (2011) Forbes. 13 Jan. Retrieved from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/afontevecchia/2011/01/13/on-the-verge-of-a-global-food-crisis/

Thompson, Arthur A. (2012) Whole Foods Market in 2010: Vision, Core Values and Strategy. Crafting and Executing Strategy: The Quest for Competitive Advantage. Concepts and Cases 18e.