Panera Bread Swot Analysis and Financial Trends

S

 Leading Market Position (7)

 Strong Revenue Growth

 Strong Liquidity

 Bread baking expertise is a competitive advantage (4)

 Catering initially successful

 Fresh appealing menu items (6)

 Free Wi-Fi access for customers

 The business model (2)

 Extensive employee training program

 Franchising system & site selection & proprietary software (3)

 Research, development & product innovation (5)

 Financial position- lack of long term debt (1)

W

 Over dependency on a single distributor

 Low brand awareness

 Weak marketing campaigns compared with competition

 Disruptions or supply issues in the fresh dough facilities could adversely affect the business

 Frequent diners only come at one meal time per day

 Lack of a traditional dinner menu

 Inability to continue to convince customers the benefits of paying higher prices for higher quality food

O

 Growth in restaurant industry

 Low cost substitutes viewed as lower quality & value

 Drive thru service

 Develop a better traditional dinner menu

 Buyers are characterized as likely to give new restaurants a try

 Rising demand for nonalcoholic beverages

T

 Highly competitive market

 US Economic conditions

 Government Regulations

 Product is a discretionary purchase

 Substitutes are convenient and lower priced

 Wide breadth of competitive rivalry

 Steep learning curve

Past Financial Performance: (use 3 year trends & industry averages)

Panera Bread revenues have steadily increased system wide over the past three fiscal years of 2008 to 2010. The fiscal year 2008 had