Key Market Strategy of Panera Bread - Essay Example

The company's main competitive advantage is its ambiance which serves as an escape from the daily hustle.

Based on the SWOT analysis of Panera Bread, its brand image is strong in the US. By focusing on its competitive advantage, the company has maintained strong customer loyalty due to its appealing ambiance. Panera Bread's core competency is its artisan foods considered the best by its loyal customers.

The primary components of Panera Bread's value chain include customer service, operating performance, and inbound logistics. Inbound logistics is more crucial as it acts as a product differentiation mechanism (Srinivasan, 2006).

The management should reconsider its strategic measure of refranchising its 73 stores and its attempt to augment its share buyback. The underlying reason is that this will increase the company's debt level and thus lower its future profitability. Panera Bread should instead focus on other effective measures of competing against its rivals such as Starbucks.

For Panera Bread to strengthen its competitive position in the global food industry, it should focus on promoting its organic food (Gamble, & Thompson, 2012). As earlier mentioned, most people are shifting their consumption pattern to healthy organic foods as they become more conscious of their health. Therefore, this will help strengthen the company's competitiveness and its business prospects.

A company’s competitive advantage is everything. The growth of a company can only be achieved by exploiting the competitive advantage and the core competencies of the company.