Consider the acquisition strategy of one of these two firms in the retail food industry: Whole Foods and SuperValu. In a 5-6-page paper, answer questions 1-4 of the LASA paper:

a. Emerging

b. Rapid-growth

c. Mature/slow-growth

d. Stagnant/declining

e. High-velocity/turbulent

f. Fragmented

Describe the acquisition history of the firm considering the context of the market situation in its segment of the industry.

Questions

1. Identify the company and their product(s)/service(s) you will focus on in this paper (if relevant) and give a half page description of the each.

2. Using the tools you've learned in class, do an environmental scan of the industry in which this company operates. Your scan should include a discussion of the market situation and structure of this industry and all change agents relevant to the industry and firm, including but not limited to major indicators of the economy, societal/demographic trends, technological trends, and legal/regulatory issues.

3. Using the Five Forces and your other analytical tools, use critical thinking skills to discuss the impact of the change agents identified in #2 on market situation, structure, and competitiveness of this industry

4. Using the tools learned in class, identify the generic strategies used by the firm for the products/services you identified in #1. Critically discuss the impact of the change agents identified in #2 on all generic strategies you've identified. If your firm employs a differentiated strategy, discuss the points of differentiation and explain why they are or are not competitively sustainable. Defend or challenge the alignment of the current generic strategies with the new environment. This section should include an analysis of competitors and price for your identified product(s)/services(s).