CASE 13 Panera Bread Company In Spring 2016, Panera Bread was widely regarded as the clear leader of the fast-casual segment of the restaurant industryfast-casual restaurants were viewed as being a cut above traditional quick-service restaurants like McDonalds because of better food quality, limited table service, and, in many instances, often wider and more upscale menu selections. On average, 7.8 million customers patronized Panera Breads 1,972 company-owned and franchised bakerycafs each week, and Panera baked more specialty breads daily than any other bakery-caf enterprise in North America. In 2015, Panera had corporate revenues of $2.7 billion, systemwide store revenues of $4.5 billion, and average sales of $2.5 million per store location.

Panera Bread management has employed you as a consultant and asked you to assess the companys strategy, competitive market position and overall situation, and recommend a set of actions to help ensure that the company achieves its targeted long-term EPS growth rate of 15 to 20 percent annually and succeeds in profitably opening 100+ new units annually for the next several years.

Please prepare a report to the senior executives at Panera Bread that includes:

What are the key elements of the companys strategy? Be Specific

Which of the five generic competitive strategies described in Chapter 5 most closely match the competitive strategy that Panera Bread is employing?

What are the pros and cons of the companys strategy?

What are Paneras strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats? Be Specific

Evaluate Panera Breads financial performance (based on the data in case Exhibits 1, 2, and 7),

What are the strategic issues and problems that Panera Breads management needs to address?

Based on your research what are some action recommendations needed by the company to reach the goal of EPS of 15 to 20% and opening of 100 stores? Is this realistic? Explain.