Eco 365 - Differentiating Between Marketing Structures - Kudler Fine Foods

Differentiating Between Marketing Structures

Rob Arnold

ECO 365

January 03, 2012

Jeffrey S. Laudin

Differentiating Between Marketing Structures

Kudler Fine Foods (KFF) is a premier gourmet grocery store established in 1998 by Kathy Kudler. Mrs. Kudler started the store because there was a lack of this type of store in her area (Kudler Strategic Plan, 2003). The first store that opened was in the La Jolla area, as the store flourished she opened another store in Del Mar, which is not as profitable, and finally a third was open in the Encinitas. After reading the Kudler Fine Foods, strategic plans, market overview, surveys I will what market structure KFF is in, its strength, weakness, and the outlook for long-term profitability.

Kudler Fine Foods has established a strong performance in the competitive marketplace. They provide a unique by providing a private and specialized selection of gourmet foods for their customers. I believe this is what sets them apart in their area of business. Mrs. Kudler works seven days a work and makes a point to tries to visit each store daily. Kathy handles the purchasing of the three Kudler Fine Foods stores. To achieve the best price for the stores, she buys in bulk. This saves money for the company but tends to cause Mrs. Kudler to lose valuable interaction with customers. Because the customers are accustomed to such high-quality product the store constantly pulls product when its turnover rare is less than expected. Kudler Fine Foods is the only gourmet grocery store in the area so they have no outright competitors the major grocery and wine stores sale some of the products but are not as specialized as Kudler Fine Foods. Kudler Fine Foods boast that they offer "16 different kinds of apples, wines from all over the world, 250 varieties of cheeses, and 350 fresh fruits and vegetables. No one, including the major grocery chains, offers such a diverse product variety (Kudler Strategic Plan, 2003)."

All of the stores are in higher price neighborhoods where the customer can afford to pay the higher prices for better quality, variety, and healthier products. Kudler Fine Foods at this point is a smaller organization has the ability of controlling and monitoring itself on a weekly basis.

Kudler Fine Foods recently sent out surveys to their customers to analyze their performance and products were. One of strengths the customers pointed out about Kudler Fine Foods is the ability to provide superior customer service and selection compared to other competitors. Another strength that customer acknowledged was the price spent to the quality of product received; customer believe that their money was well spent for the products that they purchased. The main weakness indicated by customers was the marketing material for displaying the food. Customers think the displays were not on par to the kind of store that KFF portrays. Another weakness noted by the surveys was the Kudler Fine Foods customer service. Almost half of KFF customers felt that the employees were knew little about the products and were not the friendliest to be around. To change this perception Mrs. Kudler will have to retrain the staff in the products and emphasis