Michael Gibbons
Strategic Management W 7:10 - 10:10
1. Panera Bread’s strategy is to provide a superior product to a diverse customer base. Panera Bread’s concept is “to provide a premium specialty bakery and café experience to urban workers and suburban dwellers.” Their strategy has allowed them to provide an alternative meal to fast food restaurants. Analyzing Chapter Five’s generic competitive strategies the most closely fit competitive approach that Panera Bread is taking is the broad differentiation strategy. The broad differentiation strategy shows that Panera Bread is seeking to differentiate what they are trying to offer from their competitors, by providing a product that appeal to a broad spectrum …show more content…
They should perform an analysis of the franchise stores to evaluate what they are doing differently and possibly adapt some of these trends. Another weakness to address would be the lack of advertising. Companies have survived off of first time visits and word of mouth, but those can also back fire. They need to find ways to increase foot traffic, especially during dinner hours. If Panera Bread was to attempt to penetrate the market through advertising it would make them a more recognized organization. In addition to advertising, Panera Bread needs to expand in the market making them known as an industry leader. Threats to any company can be detrimental. In Panera Bread’s case, the threat of competition is its biggest issue. They need to find a way to corner the market and see how they can stand out from the other competition. Panera Bread can focus on providing the healthier options, fresher products, or a more friendly and family environment. The over saturated market hinders their day to day operations. In today’s society we have too many choices when it comes to restaurants. Panera Bread needs to find a way to stand out in the over saturated market and with the steady downfall of the