STR 581 Week 6 Individual Assignment - Strategic Plan UpdateFinal Version

1 Running head: STRATEGIC PLAN UPDATE – FINAL VERSION STR 581 Week 6 Individual Assignment - Strategic Plan UpdateFinal Version Individual Assignment: Strategic Plan Update—Final Version YOUR NAME STR/581 DATE NAME OF PROFESSOR Individual Assignment: Strategic Plan Update—Final Version Executive Summary Established in 1998, Kudler Fine Foods is a company that provides quality food products at a reasonable price in order to provide its customers within the San Diego metropolitan area with the best options. Kudler maintains three stores with various departments. The company prides itself in providing value for its employees and customers. From a financial perspective, Kudler’s financial statements reflect a competitive market presence within its industry based on its size and history; this can be seen within its income statement and balance sheet. Kudler’s financial forecast demonstrates that the company expects a great deal of growth in the future. An environmental scan shows that although the company faces several threats, the company has numerous opportunities it can capitalize on that may foster continued growth. Company Background Opened by Kathy Kudler in 1998, Kudler Fine Foods is a specialty food store that provides its customers with quality services and products at reasonable prices. Kudler has three stores, with locations in Del Mar, La Jolla, and Encinitas. These stores have departments that provide produce, bakeries and pastries, meat and seafood, condiments and packaged foods, and specialty dairy products. Mission Statement The purpose of a mission statement is essentially to explain the underlying rationale for a company’s existence, and at the same time, inquire as to what a company’s function is in relation to how the company places itself within society (Pearce & Robinson, 2009). The mission statement is critical in that it expresses a company’s true identity and philosophy while establishing an image in which the general public will perceive. As such, it is important that the mission statement of Kudler Fine Foods emphasize the aforementioned premises. The previous mission statement of Kudler Fine reads as follows: “Kudler Fine Foods is committed to providing our customers with the finest selection of the very best foods and wines so that your culinary visions can come true” (Kudler Fine Foods Web Site, 2007). A more appropriate mission statement for Kudler would be: “The mission of Kudler Fine Foods is to provide a large assortment of high quality foods and wines at the best possible prices with the assistance of a well tenured and obliging workforce in order to meet and exceed the expectations of its customers to make their shopping experience as enjoyable as possible”. Vision Statement A vision statement is one that explains the position in which a company wishes to be in within the company’s future (Pearce & Robinson, 2009). This kind of statement involves thinking strategically on a long-term level while establishing its intentions. For most companies, the vision involves growth or sustainment in regard to overall size, capacity, and input/output. The previous vision statement of Kudler Fine Foods reads as follows: “Kudler Fine Foods will be the premiere gourmet grocery store for those savvy shoppers who are searching for the finest meats, produce, cheeses, and wine” (Kudler Fine Foods Web Site, 2007). A more appropriate vision statement for Kudler would be: “The vision of Kudler Fine Foods is to focus on its customers while capitalizing on its capacity to be profitable by offering the variety, quality, and prices on its food and wine products in order to continue its growth and become a leader within the industry and highly recognized by the people in which its serves”. Value Statement A value statement entails its values in terms of its social, cultural, and ethical responsibilities to its internal and external clients (Pearce & Robinson, 2009). The value statement is an expression of a company’s foundational priorities and the actions in which the company takes in this capacity. The previous value statement of Kudler Fine Foods reads as follows: “Kudler Fine Foods uses only the finest organic ingredients. Whenever possible, we purchase local produce from organic farmers. We use unbleached flour in our bakery goods and we don’t add unnecessary preservatives to our products. Food is rotated from the shelves on an ongoing basis. Those items that are still in “good” condition are donated to local homeless shelters and food kitchens” (Kudler Fine Foods Web Site, 2007). A more appropriate value statement for Kudler would be: “Kudler Fine Foods centers all of its actions in order to benefit its internal and external customers. Kudler prides themselves in its reliability, quality, commitment, and honesty while offering the best products while utilizing the finest ingredients. Kudler Fine Foods’ quality, customer service, cleanliness cannot be matched. Kudler values the proficiency, capability, vision, and knowledge of its employees and realizes that its customers are critical to its success. Kudler’s customers are critical to its success and as such, the company is customer-focused and receptive. Kudler treats all of its employees with trust and respect while leading through creativity and teamwork to foster a positive environment for its employees. Environmental Scan and Summary When conducting an environmental scan, it is most beneficial for Kudler to utilize both an internal environmental scan and an external environmental scan. In order to effectively conduct an internal environmental scan, it is most appropriate for Kudler to utilize a SWOT analysis in order to identify the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. In this capacity, if Kudler ultimately wants grow and further expand, it will certainly have to capitalize on its key strengths while overcoming its major weaknesses and threats. Additionally, Kudler should particularly focus on minimizing its operating expenses and costs in order to survive in today's highly competitive market and current economic recession. When it comes to strengths, Kudler’s product mix is solid. Kudler offers its customers fresh, high-quality food that has essentially given the company a reputable market presence within its markets (Kudler Fine Foods Web Site, 2007). As such, Kudler has been able to price its products accordingly. One of Kudler’s primary weaknesses pertains to its inability to expand. Kudler has a restricted presence and is not recognized on a national level. This is largely due to the fact that company lacks in its overall resources, while its competition has more at their disposal. As far as opportunities are concerned, Kudler can certainly build upon its image and store recognition while expanding to new locations. Additionally, Kudler has the capacity to build upon its current product mix that offers quality products by offering more varieties to both the current and new locations. Kudler’s threats derive from its strong competition. The industry in which Kudler operates in is comprised of large, nationally recognized food chains that have far greater resources (Kudler Fine Foods Web Site, 2007). Additionally, Kudler’s target market is ever-changing in its desire and requirements for food. Since Kudler’s major strengths lies within its product mix, it is essential for Kudler to promote its products’ quality and superiority over its competition’s products. The company should also build upon its existing market presence and reputation in the areas in which it serves. Kudler has been able to effectively charge premium fees for its quality foods. Nonetheless, Kudler does not appear to be an enormous retailer; its geographical presence is somewhat narrow. It may be wise for the company to build upon its current resources and become larger in order to make it easier to compete against its competition. In this capacity, Kudler should reevaluate its bargaining power. In order for Kudler to gain a more competitive advantage, it would be beneficial for the company to bargain with its suppliers more effectively in an attempt to free up some of its resources. This, in turn, may allow for them to grow by establishing additional retail locations. If Kudler is not able to effectively do this, the company may potentially be paying higher rates for its products and materials in comparison to its competition; this will make its competition more efficient and potentially more powerful. It is also essential that Kudler continue to invest in Research and Development and push innovation in order to make sure that the company continues to offer the best-quality specialty foods within its market(s) at the best prices possible. Kudler needs to additionally evaluate the current economic condition that its markets are facing. The economic recession has affected the nation in numerous ways; this has a direct affect on the ability for a company such as Kudler to grow. As such, Kudler will find it increasingly difficult to maintain its growth rate. This is especially true for Kudler due to the fact that it is functioning in an upscale market. Even though Kudler’s customers are not feeling the effects of the economic recession, it would still be beneficial for Kudler to become more price sensitive and pay extra attention to its cost related issues in order to offer the best possible value to some of its price-conscious consumers. It is also imperative for Kudler to place an emphasis on demographics. Consumers and their preferences change on almost a constant basis. In this capacity, specialty food [grocery] stores such as Kudler seem to have more and more competition from larger chains that have more resources. It is necessary for Kudler to successfully identify and adapt to changes in consumer demographics in order to adhere to the ever-changing requirements and preferences of the consumers. Consumers always want products that are affordable, and there is a growing