Whole Foods Market in 2008

Whole Foods Market is the largest natural, organic and health food supermarket in the United States. The company has a strong workforce of 32000 employees and runs 172 stores in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. John Mackey first started the company as a natural grocery store in 1978. The store unsuccessful to meet most wanted results due to its small location, which facilitated only limited to a small assortment. Furthermore, the store zeroed in on only vegetarian foods. Later, he decided to associate with Craig Weller and Mark Skiles to start Whole Foods Market in Austin, Texas, in 1980. The company purchased Allegro Coffee Company in 1997 and it became its coffee roasting and distribution centre later on. In 1996, the company purchased Pigeon Cove, which is the only supermarket in the country own and control a waterfront seafood facility. All in all, Whole Foods is specialized in selling of natural food, which is free from growth hormones and antibiotics and organic food, which confirms to US standards set by the United States Department of Agriculture.

The company was recognized by fortune as one of the 100 best companies to work for. Vision and strategies Vision of the company is to offer high-quality food and engage in moral business practices. Whole Foods firmly believes that the best tasting and nutritious would be preserved if the food is not added with sweeteners, colorings and preservatives. The company aims to attain motivational and respectful work environment. To achieve this, the company encourages each store to make independent decisions with respect to its operations. In addition to this, it aims to achieve more than 100% customer satisfaction. In order to obtain this, Whole Foods intend to delight the customers in every interaction. Other global factors are involved in this circle of life for this marketing decision. It was five major factors included – economic, technological, competition, social and regulatory. Out of all the factors the most important was environmental. This factor posed a great threat based on health conscious, committed and loyalty and having purchasing power for natural and organic products with product power and price.

Porter's Five Forces of Competition includes the following: Barriers to Entry, Bargaining Power of Suppliers, Bargaining Power of Buyers, Threat of Substitute Products, and Intensity of Rivalry among Competitors. Barriers to Entry could be a tricky force with Whole Foods Market's. When entering this market barriers are high because they must fill a store with only organic food. That means they must find all the suppliers that offer the right products for sale or either produce them. The other two forces in Porter's model are bargaining power of supplies and the bargaining power of buyers. With the bargaining power of buyers, the firms seek to make the most of returns on their spent capital. Consumers in the organic industry are not really