Shaich believed that the burgeoning category of higher-end restaurant chains, which came to be known as fast casual , was about to explode. The company went public in and continued expanding at a brisk pace. In , Shaich decided to sell Au Bon Pain to focus on Panera, which he felt was best positioned to take advantage of the direction in which the industry was moving.
And what fast food had become was a commodity. It had become nutritional cocaine. By , Panera was opening a new store approximately every three days, and had more than a billion dollars in annual sales.
But the financial crisis had made consumers more cautious with their spending. To keep them coming, Shaich developed a system for digital ordering, a catering and delivery service, and a loyalty program.
These programs required significant investment, but they paid off. By , Panera had become one of the most successful restaurant chains in the United States, and much of the industry adopted its innovations. It now has more than two thousand locations, and more than a hundred thousand employees.
Over the last few years, however, Shaich has come to believe that the current business environment is far less amenable to the process of building companies like his. Wall Street has embraced the idea that companies exist solely to serve the holders of their stock. Under this way of thinking, managers of companies should focus their actions on driving short-term value for their shareholders, and should pay far less or no regard to other constituents who may have a stake in the business, such as employees, customers, or members of the community.
Shaich partly blames activist hedge funds, many of which buy shares in companies with the aim of pushing their management to make decisions that drive their stock prices up within a few months.
Which do you think is better — Au Bon Pain or Panera? Did you already know the Latin meaning of Panera? Let us know in the comments! Emma Roberts is a freelance writer and editor who is passionate about learning, traveling, and language. Your email address will not be published. Emma Roberts.
Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. After acquiring unit Saint Louis Bread Company in , Ron realized in the mids that a growing niche of people wanted something more than processed fast food.
He saw they were hungry for an experience they respected: real food, served in an engaging environment by people with self-respect. Saint Louis Bread Company was renamed Panera to position it for national growth. In , Ron determined that Panera had the potential to be nationally dominant, but it would require all of our resources. As a result, in all of the Au Bon Pain Co. We then focused all of our time, treasure and talent on growing Panera.
The s cemented what we call our Contrarian Philosophy. During the go-go years of the early s, we maintained our steady, disciplined rate of growth. We invested in the customer experience — things like design and WiFi, which encouraged guests to linger — and turned Panera into a gathering place.
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