panera bread
Panera Case Questions
1. What is Panera Bread’s strategy? Which of the five generic competitive strategies discussed in Chapter 5 most closely fit the competitive approach that
Panera Bread is taking? What type of competitive advantage is Panera Bread trying to achieve?
2. What does a SWOT analysis of Panera Bread reveal about the overall attractiveness of its situation? Does the company have any core competencies or
distinctive competencies?
3. What are the primary components of Panera Bread’s value chain?
4. What does the data in case Exhibit 1 reveal about Panera Bread’s financial performance? How well is the company doing financially? Use the financial
ratios in the Appendix as a guide in doing the calculations needed to arrive at an analysis-based answer to your assessment of Panera’s recent financial
performance. In addition to the ratios in Appendix, there are occasions when you will also need to calculate compound average growth rates (CAGR) for
certain financial measures. The formula for calculating CAGR (in percentage terms) is as follows:
CAGR % = [ending value ÷ beginning value] 1/n – 1 x 100 (where n = the number of year-to-year or period-to-period changes)
5. What does the data in case Exhibit 2 reveal about Panera Bread’s operating performance?
6. What does the data in case Exhibit 7 reveal about Panera Bread’s 3 business segments?
7. Based on the information in case Exhibit 3, which fast-casual and full-service restaurant chains appear to be Panera’s closest rivals?
8. What strategic issues and problems does Panera Bread management need to address?
9. What does Panera Bread need to do to strengthen its competitive position and business prospects vis-à-vis other restaurant chain rivals?
