Kudler Fine Foods: Strategic Approaches to Growth

Executive summary

Kudler fine foods’ was initiated by Kathy Kudler in 1998, who had been marketing for a large defense contractor, and is located in San Diego; California area. The main objective and selling point for Kudler was to make all customers satisfied and have an unforgettable experience while shopping. The stores have increased in number and have achieved tremendous growth throughout the years.

The vision of Kudler fine foods is to be the premier grocery store for all customers who purchase meats, cheese, produce, and wines. It has the vision to attract huge profits through exploiting a larger market that is comprised of loyal clients. It is also well known for valuing its employees and it treating them fairly and also values its customers, while its mission is to continue to offer quality to customers and expand regionally and dominate the markets and remain the best in the fine foods industry (Kudler Fine Foods Virtual Organization).

This paper analyses the environmental scan for the business which involves evaluating its success and failures and what is required for the business to be prosperous in the future. It identifies problems such as smaller management, lack of website technology, and inadequate adoption of generic products in the business. It also sees better opportunities for the business to explore such as expanding the branch networks and training employees for efficient output. The individual strategic plan for the identified problems is then laid down with the implementation plan drawn that includes how the objectives will be met and the tactics to be employed, the action items, milestones, tasks resource allocations, and a timeframe to implement the strategy. The work breakdown strategy (WBS) and a Gantt chart are also included. The risks for the implementation process are also outlined with measures such as having an underwriter for the IPO.

Background of Kudler fine foods

Kudler fine foods’ was the brainchild of Kathy Kudler in 1998, who had been marketing for a large defense contractor. It is located in San Diego; California area. She aspired to create a store that would have a wide variety of products. The first store located in La Jolla, California became a success and this made her establish other three stores to Del Mar and Encinitas.

The main objective and selling point for Kudler was to make all customers satisfied and have an unforgettable experience while shopping. The stores have increased in number and have achieved tremendous growth throughout the years.

Every store has a European bakery which bakes products with no preservatives, in the meat section there is plenty of organic meat, in the produce section there is over 350 fresh fruits, herbs and vegetables, while the wine sections contain the perfect wine in the region (Kudler Fine Foods Virtual Organization). The future looks bright for Kudler Fine Foods as the stores have been attracting many clients through an effective marketing strategy.

Organizational mission, vision, and value statements

The vision of Kudler fine foods is to be the premier grocery store for all customers who like purchasing the best and quality meats, cheese, produce, and wines. It stores quality food products that are sold at very reasonable prices and only the best in the market. It has the vision to attract huge profits through exploiting a larger market that is comprised of loyal clients. Kudler fine foods are well known for valuing its employees and it treats them fairly and also values its customers by offering them the best and high-quality customer services (Kudler Fine Foods Virtual Organization).

Its mission is to continue to offer quality to customers and expand regionally and dominate the markets and remain the best in the fine foods industry. The business also needs to diversify to other sectors such as; catering and organic production to cushion the business against any competition (Hartley Et al. 2008).

Environmental scan

The strategic plan for Kudler fine foods is to expand and continue being the preferred choice by the clients in the region. This needs to be long-term to make an impact in the market and realize its mission, vision, and value. The business seems to have dominated the California region in the field of fine foods and many prefer shopping there. The status quo puts the business at a higher edge than any other competitor since it is renowned and has an effective marketing strategy.

The gourmet food store has had effective customer care and employee relations which have made clients loyal. There is a dire need for expansion to tap new markets in the California region and these factors in the need to open new branches such as in Carlsbad; California (Kudler Fine Foods Virtual Organization). There is also dire need for diversification to tap other exploited markets in the catering and organic produce markets.

All these procedures will ensure a sense of continuity, direction, and effective leadership; a higher level of standard of accountability in the business; and an awareness of business facilities and work-related matters at the gourmet Kudler fine food stores. The business also requires increasing its capital base to get more capital for its expansion needs. It also has been admired in the region this awareness campaigns may not be intense in the marketing strategy applied by the business (Porter, 1980).

The management structure of the business has remained similar despite growth and the director (Kudler) still controls all the stores in their operations. She hires managers to oversee each location where the branches are located. The running of the business is quite rigid with the absence of a website that can be able to make sales high and hence a higher turn over of goods. The business has a very strong point on offering quality products that makes the customers like the tastes and hence come back for more (Turban, 2003).

The individual strategic plan

The business prior objective is to expand its growth. This will be ensured when the company improves technology i.e. an efficient website for the business that will enable customers to learn more about the products. The adaptation of generic products will be ensured since the products are emerging in the demand of products requested by customers. New and efficient preservation technology techniques will be implemented to ensure products freshness and better quality to customers. The business will also require holding an IPO to raise more capital to expand (Gomez-Mejia & Balkin, 2002).

To eliminate the risk of using small management that is present in the business will need to solicit for efficient managers through the human resource departments. Purchasing a larger retailer is a future goal and thus the purchase should be held using the funds from the IPO. There will also be a need to train the employees on more efficient customer service techniques that will help improve the quality of service given to customers (Chase, 2006). The plans to be implemented must be done professionally to ensure effective growth and development of the business.

The implementation plan

The Kudler fine foods environmental scan shows that there is a need for an effective implementation strategic plan (Kudler Fine Foods Virtual Organization). This will include how the objectives will be met and the tactics to be employed, the action items, milestones, tasks resource allocations, and a timeframe to implement the strategy. The work breakdown strategy (WBS) will be as follows;

The IPO will be held in the first two months, where the money raised will be used to purchase a larger retailer, and a new branch acquisition, website development should be started in the first week and go on till the third week, the new preservation technology should start after website development, while the purchase of generic products will be in the final initial stages. The recruitment of new managers will also start with meetings in the first week while after the IPO it will officially be included in the implementation plan.

Risk management plan

The proposed growth plans come with their risks so the need to have a backup plan for any unwanted mishaps. The IPO will be the delicate part and if it does not achieve the targeted amounts then an underwriter will be present to buy the remaining share to achieve the targets. The website will have initial testing stages to ensure that it is appealing otherwise if not it will be subject to change then. The recruitment process for the managers will be handled by a recruitment firm to avoid canvassing in the company and to ensure the best are recruited.

References

  1. Chase, E. (2006). Operations Management for a Competitive Advantage. New York: The McGraw Hill Companies.
  2. Gomez-Mejia, L., & Balkin, B. (2002). Management. New York: The McGraw Hill Companies
  3. Hartley, W., Rudelius, W & Kerin, A. (2008). Kudler Fine Foods Virtual Organization.
  4. Porter, E. (1980). Competitive Strategy-Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors. New York: The Free Press.
  5. Turban, E. (2003). Introduction to Information Technology. New York: John Wiley and Sons Inc.

Appendix: Gantt Chart

The task Actions Wk 1 Wk 2 Wk 3 Wk 4 Wk 5 Wk 6 Wk 7 Wk 8 Wk 9 Wk 10 Wk 11 Wk 12 Wk 13 Wk 14 Wk 15 Wk 16 Wk 17 Wk 18 Wk 19 Wk 13
IPO Underwriter search
Initial offer and sale period
Closing period and allocation
Investment decisions
Website development Initial development
Initial testing
Launching
New Preservation technology
Generic products adaptation
Larger retail purchasing Bidding
Selection
Offer to best bidder
Managers recruitment Bidding for recruitment firm
Panel formation of representative
Recruitment interviews
Confirmation
Orientation
New branches acquisition Reconnaissance
Buying process
Opening branch
Employees training Seminar organization
Initial training
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