The health of the business is also seen in how many franchisees and company-owned stores are being built and launched throughout the area of the city this one is located at. There are several within twenty miles of each other. The general manager says that when there is a high concentration of commuters, those between the pages of 35 -- 55 making higher than the area per capita income, that growth often occurs as a result. This is the primary target market for Panera Bread. As these demographics continue to grow in certain areas, Panera is able to move into these communities and quickly create stores and capitalize on the unique needs they fulfill with their beverage and QSR food items.
Competing in a Global Marketplace
The general manager says Panera is only operating in the U.S. At the present time yet has plans to expand into foreign countries including the United Kingdom (UK) and throughout Australia in the near future. The general managers are being recruited to provide their input on the best possible training programs for the new programs in these other nations. In addition, there are investors from Australia and the UK visiting stores throughout the U.S. And he recently had dinner with some of them. He says the investors from the UK see a major advantage with...
It has a very unique position overall in the market
Opportunities for Growth
The greatest opportunities for growth are adding more menu items, greater variety of drinks and more items for carry out. Taken together, more items on the menu and a greater variety of services for catering are the best areas for growth.
Recommendations for Improvement
The greatest improvement needed is in the wait times to place an order. The majority of the customers come in between 7am and 8:30am and during this time, it is extremely busy. The amount of time to place an order can easily go to 20 minutes or longer. Second, the quality of the breakfast sandwiches can be either extremely good or bad. Panera needs to create a more consistent level of quality in their products. Third, the lack of variety for lunch has also been a problem, there needs to be greater variety of sandwiches and salads.
