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The Owner:
In order to become an entrepreneur in the
food industry, Amy Scherber enrolled herself at New York Restaurant School
to learn various culinary expertises. During this time, Amy also worked at
Bouley Restaurant as a line and pastry cook; this hands-on training
allowed her to become accustomed to the food service business. Before
opening Amy’s Bread, Amy also went into three intensive training in France
as well as in Mondrian Restaurant in New York; these trainings allowed her
to learn more about making breads. After these experiences, Amy eventually
opened her own bakery in 1992. Her preparation in becoming an entrepreneur
generally involves education and sufficient training (“Amy’s Biography”,
2006).
The Products:
Low-cost breads are typically products
that are made by machines; these products are cheaper since they can be
produced in greater numbers at a short span of time. However, the products
of Amy’s Bread are all made from scratch and by hand. The entrepreneur and
the rest of her staff believe that better breads come out of manual bread
making since the good texture of the dough is maintained. Moreover, bread
making by hand helps in keeping the good flavors of the product. Amy’s
Bread are also different from other similar products because of the
ingredients used for their production. Whole grains and unbleached flour
are the main components of their bread dough; health-conscious consumers
also find Amy’s products better than any brands as most of their breads
are low or free from fat (“Location in Manhattan”, 2006).
The Media:
Several publications had made positive
reviews about Amy’s Bread, its products and services. An article in Sante
(2003) noted that one of the distinguishing features of Amy’s products is
its treatment of bread as works of art. Indeed, non-artisan breads are
cheaper than their artisan counterparts, however, Amy’s Bread offers
flavors and nutrition, making the higher price worth it. A an article from
Delta Sky (2003) noted that the goodness of artisan breads, such as those
made by Amy Scherber come from the goodness of the ingredients used as
well as the creativity of their makers. Most importantly, the
entrepreneur’s constant passion for bread making and intent for making
consumers happy are the best components of Amy’s Bread as compared to
other bakeries.
The Location:
Amy’s Bread is found in three stores in
New York. The first store, hell’s Kitchen, is found at Ninth Avenue in New
York. The store’s environment features a kitchen-style feel, which makes
consumers feel right at home. Hell’s Kitchen has a total of 12 seats and
serves delicious breads from Mondays to Saturdays until eleven in the
evening, and on Sundays until six. The second store location is found at
the Chelsea Market. While Hell’s Kitchen is exhibits a cozy home-style
service, the store at the Chelsea Market is more after consumers who are
mostly on the go. The location is a lot busier than Hell’s Kitchen as
several food stores, wine shops and florists are found in the area. Amy’s
Bread at Chelsea Market also allows consumers to see its bakers at work as
the walkway is lined with glass windows. The second store has 12 tables
for dining consumers, making it a bigger place than Hell’s Kitchen. The
Village at Bleecker Street in New York is the newest store of Amy’s Bread.
The new store is more similar to Hell’s Kitchen as it mostly serves people
who want to eat and relax. It also exhibits a cozy feel for customers.
The Competition:
Amy’s Bread actually has a number of
competitors within Manhattan. For the bread category, Amy’s has around six
major competitors, which include The Cleaver Company, Eleni’s Cookies,
Night Bagels, Ruthy’s Cheesecakes, Grandma’s Recipe Rugelach and
Sarabeth’s Bakery. Competition is great at the Chelsea Market since other
food businesses are found in the area. These include Hale & Hearty Soups,
The Lobster Place, Manhattan Fruit Exchange, Ronnybrook Farm Dairy and
Buonitalia. These stores are considered competitors as they offer food
products for main meals and snacks. Similar to Amy’s Bread, the competing
stores also offer products that are good for gift-giving.
The Customers:
New York City, where Amy’s Bread stores
are situated, is the largest city in the US. In 2002, the population of
the entire city is around 22 million; 8 million of which lived in the city
proper. It was even ranked as the fifth location in the world with the
largest population. With this population size, busy pedestrian traffic is
observed at all times. People living in the area are culturally diverse;
hence, stores selling foreign goods are typical. The large amount of
people in the area encouraged others to put up small businesses in the
neighborhood; this makes it easier for shoppers to walk their way from one
store to another. As a shopping hub in the US, tourists and local
residents of the city are mostly found in malls and neighborhood stores.
Moreover, most city dwellers live in apartments and condos as owning a
house can be expensive; the people also prefer to live in areas near their
work site (WikiTravel, 2006). With these features, consumers of the city
are typically after ease in shopping. Apartment tenants prefer foods
bought from stores as they are available and ready to eat.
1. Strategic alliance is a collaborative
partnership between two or more organizations in order to achieve a common
goal. This business strategy has a number of advantages. One of which is
that it allows business to overcome threats of competition. In addition,
strategic alliance helps businesses achieve certain goals as well as
create sources of competitive advantages. This strategy also opens various
opportunities for the companies and helps in controlling significant
business risks. This strategy however has disadvantages as well. For
instance, the success of this strategy is not assured especially. This
happens if the companies lack accountability and trust. If poor governance
between the companies is observed, the alliance is also subject to failure
and great company losses (Wakeam, 2003).
2. It was ten years ago when Irwin Cohen
bought the Chelsea Market and place over 20 retail and food related
businesses. Businesses found in the area include wine shops, bakeries,
flower shops and restaurants.
3. From the list of Chelsea tenants, Amy’s
Bread would probably create a good alliance with restaurants found in the
area as well as with gift shops. For restaurants, a strategic alliance is
good since both are working in the food sector; it is then likely that
their business objectives are similar. Joining together with another food
company can help Amy’s Bread overcome other competitors. The company can
also form a strategic alliance with gift stores like the flower shops
since Amy’s Bread have similar target markets. Moreover, both shops can
use their product brands to promote their goods and increase sales.
4. A grocery or ingredient food store may
be a good alliance for Amy’s Bread. This will help the business in times
of cooking emergencies or supplies. The grocery on the other hand, can
benefit from the business as it will have access to regular and large
retailers.
5. Tenants for small hotels or office
buildings can be a good addition to the Chelsea Market. One advantage of
adding these tenants is that it will be good for the retail and food
companies to have regular customers from the new tenants. The tenants on
the other hand can find it beneficial as it will be convenient for them to
have retail and food stores nearby. As the site is good for dining and
shopping, both old and suggested new tenants can benefit from each other
as they operate at Chelsea Market.
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