Whole Foods Market - Essay Example

?Client’s 27 November Whole Foods was an initiative by two young entrepreneurs who grew by leaps and bounds, the sales kept doubling for the two each year for the first four years and this was just the beginning. The original idea was to provide people of Texas with a grocery store which would satisfy their demands and they certainly succeeded in doing so. Not only did they satisfy the people in Texas they went well above and beyond. “Wow! What a ride. Back in 1980, we started out with one small store in Austin, Texas. Today, we’re the world’s leader in natural and organic foods, with more than 310 stores in North America and the United Kingdom. What a long, strange trip it’s been. We still honor our original ideals, and we think that has a lot to do with our success.” (About Whole Foods) It is very important to shed light upon the price of certain items sold in Whole Foods, the price is usually higher than the same grocery products sold in other stores, this is something which could be affecting the profits of Whole Foods. However, it is unclear as to why the price is higher than other grocery stores. There could be a number of reasons for this but at the end of the day what matters is profit and the quality of the products sold in the store. As far as the quality is concerned Whole Foods has always been providing their customers with the very best products so quality is certainly not an issue but price is something which they need to work on only then can they increase their profits. Reducing the price does not mean it will hamper their growth, they can always find new ways or special offers which could fetch them even more profits, everything comes down to innovation. Thinking out of the box has become really important and one good pricing strategy can fetch a lot of profit to Whole Foods. Whole Foods does not promote the discount card scheme and this is really strange, it is strange because the customers who keep visiting the store do not get rewarded and they should be rewarded only then will they feel like coming over and over again. Discount cards will also bring Whole Foods new customers and finding new customers is really important for any business. This is the first change which Whole Foods must introduce; discount cards are the need of the hour. The economic conditions in the recent past have been anything but ideal considering the same Whole Foods must introduce discount cards and this change is ought to bring more clients which would imply more profit for the organization. Whole Foods can become even more popular by sponsoring events, sponsoring local events would be ideal just to make a start but in the long run the store can also sponsor sporting events so that it becomes even more popular. This is another very good way of attracting more clients. The Premier League is a classic example, Barclays in the UK started sponsoring the Premier League in England and it is now known as the Barclays Premier League and it is watched by Billions of people across the globe. Such sponsorship deals may be expensive for an organization but can prove very beneficial in the long run. Whole Foods should also look at similar opportunities so as to make their mark. Organic food is something in which Whole Foods specialize and they need to work on building a brand identity. The first thing which should come to minds of people when they think of organic food should be Whole Foods, this is not an easy job but it can be accomplished and there are several organizations who have accomplished the same and there is no reason as to why Whole Foods cannot achieve the same in the field of organic food. Aggressive promotion is another idea which could work well for Whole Foods, social networking websites have become incredibly popular, big organizations have their own Facebook pages and Whole Foods should also create a Fan page and keep it updated so that the people can know of the recent changes and the recent products being sold by Whole Foods. Twitter is another medium with the help of which Whole Foods can get more customers, targeting new customers has always worked for organizations in the past and the same should work well for Whole Foods as well. These are some really easy to follow ideas which can make a lot of difference and can really catapult an organization. Every strategy adopted by Whole Foods must be in accord with the government regulations, the regulations keep changing and any change in the field of organic food would directly affect the spending power of the customers and this would mean less sales, this is why it is very important to keep the regulations in mind and work strategies out which would be beneficial in the short run as well as in the long run. The American Economy is going through a rough patch and the signs of recovery have been anything but positive. These conditions have made life very difficult for big organizations; purchasing organic food may not be a preferred option for Americans. This again is bound to affect Whole Foods and may not work out well for them. “Who are we? Well, we seek out the finest natural and organic foods available, maintain the strictest quality standards in the industry, and have an unshakeable commitment to sustainable agriculture. Add to that the excitement and fun we bring to shopping for groceries, and you start to get a sense of what we’re all about. Oh yeah, we’re a mission-driven company too. If you are interested in learning about our business practices and what makes us tick, check out our Core Values, Quality Standards, Declaration of Interdependence, and more.” (About Whole Foods) Conclusions It is fair to say that Whole Foods must lower its prices in order to sound convincing to Americans who have been badly hit because of the recent economic crisis. In addition to this the organization must introduce discount cards as discussed earlier so that the customers who keep coming back day in, day out feel rewarded. This change would also encourage the other customers to shop from Whole Foods. Sponsoring local events in the US and in the UK would indubitably make Whole Foods a whole lot more popular and this again should be done on priority basis, the more people get to know about Whole Foods the better it is for the organization. Once the organization incorporates all these changes, it would experience a lot of positive changes. More exposure would mean more sales and more sales would imply more profits. References About Whole Foods (2011). Selling the Highest Quality, Natural & Organic Products. Web. Retrieved from: Read More