The Panera Bread Company competes in two closely related industries. It is regarded as fast casual, which competes with both quick serve and casual dining. Additionally, they have begun selling pre-packaged foods at major grocery stores. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, food away from home accounted for 594 billion dollars of the 1.24 trillion dollars in expenditures by U.S. citizens in 2010. Of the 594 billion dollars, quick service accounted for about 37% of sales coning to a total of nearly 220 billion dollars (USDA ERS - food service industry: Market segments, 2015). The expenditure of 220 billion dollars in the quick serve market equates to over $650 spent annually for each individual in the United States. This …show more content…
Competitive market – Quick serve and fast casual are highly competitive markets and success now does not always mean future success. Strain on manufacturing – Anything that could lead to a breakdown in transportation of dough from hub to store could cause a lack of product. Increased human costs – The proposed $15 minimum wage would have an effect on sales revenue. Damaged reputation – anything that could damage Panera’s image of a customer service and quality based business would be very bad for their business. The ultimate threat for Panera Bread would be a damaged reputation. So much of their business is built upon the reputation that they have worked hard to build for their company as the majority of their business is brought in by word of mouth. Serving a tainted product that is traced back to their company would be something that I am not sure the business as a whole could recover from. This would also be a problem due in part to the astronomical costs that would be brought forth through the litigation process, especially if Panera Bread was found at fault for a mass sickness or death due to serving tainted food. Even if the company was finically able to afford these costs, the long term cost of lowered business may be enough to drive the company into