Panera Bread

Introduction If you analyzed the restaurant attention using Porters louvre forces model, you wouldnt be favorably impressed. Three of the threats to profitability?the threat of substitutes, the threat of new entrants, and rivalry among existing firms?are high. Despite these threats to industry profitability, one restaurant chain is moving forward in a very positive direction. St. Louis?based Panera Bread Company, a chain of specialty bakery-cafés, has grown from 602 company owned and franchised units in 2003 to over 877 today. In 2005 alone, its sales increased by 33.6% and its dinero income increased by 35.2%. So whats Paneras secret? How is it that this company flourishes go its industry as a whole is experiencing difficulty? As well see, Panera Breads success can be explained in deuce words: positioning and execution. Changing Consumer Tastes Paneras roots go post to 1981, when it was founded under the name of Au Bon Pain Co. and consisted of three Au Bon Pain bakery-cafés and one cookie store. The company grew slowly until the mid-1990s, when it acquired canonise Louis Bread Company, a chain of 20 bakery-cafes located in the St. Louis area.

About that time, the owners of the newly combined companies observed that people were progressively looking for products that were special?that were a departure from run-of-the-mill restaurant diet. Second, they noted that although consumers were tiring of standard fast-food fare, they didnt want to give up the convenience of quick service. This trend led the company to stop that consumers wanted the convenience of fast food combined with a higher-quality experience. In slightly different words, they wanted good food served quickly in an enjoyable environment. The Emergence of Fast Casual As the result of these changing consumer tastes, a new category in the restaurant industry, called fast-casual, emerged. This category provided consumers the alternative they wanted by capturing the wages of... If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: Orderessay

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