Project is on WHOLE FOODS
Students are required to complete a project which involves them “acting in a consulting capacity” for a top 100 U.S. based retailer. (WHOLE FOODS). At the conclusion of the project students will make recommendations for how the retailer can be improve, grow, and become more competitive in the industry.
The five steps to the project are:
Step 1: Research – history and background of WHOLE FOODS, sales and profit growth, corporate mission, and key financial data from the retailer’s annual report and balance sheet. Example of advertising and other promotional vehicles should also be included along with a discussion of important events that have helped shape the organization. Make sure you include online promotional activities.
Step 2: Conduct a SWOT Analysis – identify internal strengths and weaknesses of WHOLE FOODS as well as external threats and opportunities associated with the industry and its competition.
Step 3- Omni-Channel Analysis– Analyze the effectiveness of WHOLE FOODS’ application of omni-channel strategies to achieve a customer-centric experience
Step 4: Choose a Key Competitor and Predict Their Future – compare WHOLE FOODS with an important key competitor. Note important differences and similarities in strategy. How does their omni-channel strategies affect their business?
Step 5: Recommendations for Making Your Retailer Bigger and Better – differentiate between short term, intermediate term, and long term strategies. Develop strategies that are both conservative and aggressive. Develop some strategies that require significant investments, as well as those that require fewer funds.
A minimum of five articles should be researched for this project. The articles may come from the following resources: refereed journals, Business Week, Fortune, Forbes, Stores, and Wall Street Journal. Using the APA format for documentation, this ten to 12 page project (not less than ten pages) should be double spaced, 12 point font Times New Roman.
