Panera Bread Company

1349 Words3 Pages

“A loaf of bread in every arm” is the mission statement of Panera Bread Company (Vincelette & Fogarty, 2010, p.1). Panera started as a small bakery under the name Au Bon Pain and grew to one of the largest fast food service companies in the U.S. In 2008 they had the 5th overall rating in the restaurant industry. “Panera Bread is widely recognized for driving the nationwide trend for specialty breads” (Panera Bread, 2011).

Company Timeline

Over $3 million in debt and preparing to file for bankruptcy Kane partnered with Ronald Shaich. Shaich saw potential in Kane’s business and the first strategic move was to offer extended menu choices to boost morning sales. From 1981-1984 the company was expanding their business, they were working to lower their debt and to centralize their dough production. In 1985, through the observation of customers bringing in deli meat to add to their bread, Kane had his first “eureka moment”. The new strategy was fresh quality sandwiches, bread & coffee. In 1991 Kane and Shaich took the company public. Unfortunately they were facing limited growth opportunities. The restaurants were catering to office workers and their locations were in big cities with high real-estate prices. In 1993 the company acquired Saint Louis Bread Company. This offered them entrance into a market in suburban areas and later became the platform for Panera Bread. Kane and Shaich planned a new strategy, this strategy would include: the type of food they would have on their menus, the employees they wanted interacting with their customers and what kind of atmosphere they wanted to provide their customers. In 1995 the second “eureka moment” happened, this again was through the observation of customers. Kane realized that people nee...

... middle of paper ...

...average weekly sales hit a new company high. With their strong strategic goals and their willingness to change to meet the needs of their customers I believe the company will continue to experience success.

Works Cited

Hunger, D.J., & Wheelen, T.L. (2012). Strategic Management and Business Policy, Toward

Global Sustainability (13th ed). New York: Prentice Hall.

Panera Bread Company. (2012). Investors Relations: Financial Reports. Retrieved from:

http://www.panerabread.com/about/investor/

Ruggless, R. (Feb. 7, 2012). Panera’s 4Q earnings increase 5.8%. Retrieved from:

http://nrn.com/article/paneras-4q-earnings-increase-58

Vincelette, J.P., Fogarty, E.A. (2010). Panera Bread Company (2010): Still Rising Fortunes?

Retrieved from: http://csuglobal.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/pid-394203-dt-content-rid-29343_2/courses/KEY_MGT510/MGT510_Mod6CT_Case29.PDF

More about Panera Bread Company

Open Document