PANERA BREAD

Panera Bread's Situational Analysis

Panera Bread's Situational Analysis

Introduction

Panera Bread is a small cap company focusing on selling Bread Products such as sandwiches (Panera Bread, 2012). Panera Bread can be considered a casual food place, a fact which implies that the company is a fast food restaurant but focuses on food quality and the customer's dining experience. The competition in the fast food industry is very high. Panera Bread has to compete with various large chains such as McDonalds, Burger King and Subway. It also has to compete with other coffee shops such as Starbucks. Panera Bread is comparatively new in the food industry and thus has the opportunity to grow considerably.

Discussion

Decision Maker

The decision maker in this case will be the CFO of the company and the marketing manager of the company. Since most of the problems are because of external competition and rising costs of raw materials, I believe these two positions are most suitable for the analysis of this case.

Problem Statement

One major problem that is being faced by Panera Bread could include the rising production costs. The United States has already suffered from recession resulting in high levels of inflation. This high level of inflation has increased the cost of production, and this high level of inflation has already lowered the purchasing power of potential customers. As a result, it may be very difficult for Panera Bread to increase its profit margin while keeping its menu affordable. Another problem that is being faced by Panera Bread is the competition from other large players such as Burger King, Subway and McDonalds. It may be very difficult for Panera Bread to expand in certain segments in which the more recognized brand names have a better presence. The symptoms of such problems could include falling trends in sales and lower profit margins on ...