• The company has a weak international operation system as there are only seven stores in Canada and five stores in the UK.
• Competitors accept more benefits globally.
• The company has to expand its operations all across the globe in order to drive the economies of scale.
• Lack of promotion of products through social networking.
• The company does not provide online services to the consumers unlike its competitors.
Opportunities
[large]• Whole Foods Market has the high potential growth as they plan to expand their business by opening about 33-38 stores in 2014.
• The company has been currently operating internationally in the United Kingdom and Canada, the company still has the vast opportunity to go for expansion in the fastest growing markets in the world like China and South America.
• At the time of economic downturn, the company has to adopt a cost effective strategy for the regular customers by offering a free reward card , a Discount on the next purchase and buy one get one free offer from the store.
• The company needs to build its brand identity in a way that when people think of organic foods, the Whole Foods come to their minds first.
Threats
• Fierce competition in the market from competitors like Wal-Mart, HEB Central market etc.
• The economic situation in the United States can be a threat to the company due to American’s approach of saving money and therefore when food becomes expensive the customers might be unwilling to buy the organic food items.
• Changes in the government‘s rules and regulations on the organic food can have an adverse effect on the consumer’s purchasing power.