Whole Foods Market Expansion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 4

Whole Foods Market Expansion - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that Whole Foods Market Inc. is a natural food chain store founded in 1980 in Austin, Texas. Four local businesspersons namely, Renee Lawson Hardy and John Mackey owners of Safer Way Natural Foods, and Mark Skiles and Craig Weller, who were owners of Clarksville Natural Grocery came together to start the chain store. They were brought together by the idea that a supermarket that specialized in natural foods was necessary if they were to exploit the market fully. As it turns out, the group’s idea was right as the store gained success immediately after its opening. This has seen the company grow leaps and bounds from a single store to a multi-shop franchise with shops all over the United States. The growth stemmed from the fact that the success from the start saw the company gain strength that enabled its partaking in a series of acquisitions and mergers that were carefully chosen. The growth was so immense that the company took its op erations internationally just after the turn if the new millennium with expansion into Canada in 2002 and the United Kingdom in 2004. However, the exploitation of mainland Europe is yet to occur with the company planning to do this in its next phase of expansion. It is common knowledge that the values held by Americans and Europeans differ greatly. Even the English is spoken in the two countries differs. As such, the approach used to explore the mainland Europe market needs to take into account the nuances arising from the social-cultural differences outlined below. The first nuance has to do with language. The American English is filled with idioms and expressions as well as structures that are not common in the European scene. Although English is the most widely used spoken language in the business world, it has a standard known as â€Å"international English†. This means that the market exploitation needs to adopt a language that will need rephrasing to avoid misunderstand ings. Then there is the issue that not all European nations understand English. As such, depending on the nation that the company is seeking to expand into, it is necessary to have interpreters for the smooth running of operations.