RUNNING HEAD- ASSIGNMENT: INDIVIDUAL #1
Assignment: Individual #1- Festival Foods
Sandeep Panu
Strategic Management
University of Wisconsin Green Bay
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RUNNING HEAD- ASSIGNMENT: INDIVIDUAL #1
Festival Foods is a grocery store chain that is spread throughout all of Wisconsin. The
story starts with a couple from Onalaska, Wisconsin. In 1946, Paul and Jane Skogan opened their
first store, which was originally attached to their home. They did this with a loan of $500, and
now the company operates more than 20 locations. The company began by using IGA as the
name. After the original owner Paul Skogan passed away, his children decided to take over the
business and expand into more of Wisconsin. It was in 1990; when Festival Foods reevaluated
their store format to better acclimate to the shifting consumer trends. Fast forward to today,
Festival Foods operates 25 grocery stores, employing over 5,000 people.
What does Festival Foods do? Festival Foods seems to have conquered all of the major
aspects of a grocery store. In their grocery stores, they have produce, deli, scratch bakery, meat
and seafood, organic and natural foods, and wine and spirits. This covers all the required items to
run a successful grocery store chain. On top of those, Festival also offers a variety of other
services to their customers. Festival Foods teams up with local banks to offer customers the most
convenient banking experience. Other services they offer are, dry cleaning, pharmacy, bus
passes, free Wi-Fi, RedBox Rental and much more. Festival also is a big part of the community
wherever they are located. Some local events they sponsor are Festival Fireworks and Festival
Turkey Trot. I think Festival Foods comes full circle in all of their endeavors through their
“Boomerang Principle” Every business decision they make is based on the question, “Will it
bring the guest back?” (Festival). This principle in my eyes is a big reason as to why they can
build such a large customer base. But, what is to stop someone from going to big grocery store
chains such as Wal-Mart or Target? . In this day in age, large multibillion-dollar corporations are
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RUNNING HEAD- ASSIGNMENT: INDIVIDUAL #1
constantly stomping on the smaller guys. That is something that an internal and external analysis
will determine.
Festival Foods’ mission statement reflects back to consumers of what is on their agenda.
It is “To develop a team of associates dedicated to providing our guests with a clean store,
friendly people, quality products, exceptional value and an enjoyable shopping experience”,
(Festival). Festival’s mission statement is a huge reflection on who they are. They pride
themselves on giving the customer an “enjoyable shopping experience”, (Festival). I believe that
they keep customers coming back because of that very experience. Speaking from personal
knowledge, I grew up without having a Festival Foods to my disposable until I moved to Green
Bay for school. Even then, I was leery on shopping there. However, the more I frequented the
store, I began to understand why they control a large market share of the grocery store market in
Wisconsin. They are able to offer customers that extra step that Wal-Mart or Target cannot
sometimes. And that is customer service. In smaller towns, customer service is valued higher
than cheaper prices. Festival has remained true to their roots by showing local communities that
they are not just in it to make a quick buck. To them, an investment in people is the kind of
investment that generates the highest return.
Festival Foods’ vision statement covers a lot of the same ground. “Festival Foods will
win at grocery for the benefit of our associates, our guests and our communities. Our Mission
and Vision are accomplished thanks to five values that best describe what we’re all about-
servant leadership, execution, community involvement, associate development, service”,
(Festival). This vision statement also reflects back on the subject I pointed out earlier. They are
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RUNNING HEAD- ASSIGNMENT: INDIVIDUAL #1
making sure that the difference they show compared to other grocery store chains is obvious.
That difference is revolving your business’s core values and vision based on customers.
When doing the PEST analysis of the grocery store industry, it is important to understand
several important factors. Political, economic, social, and technological are what have to be
taken into consideration.
Political factors that affect the grocery store industry constitute a lot of how major
grocery chains are operated. One example is how Wal-Mart has to deal with “Political pressure
for higher wages”, (Rowland Wal-Mart). Wal-Mart has had major problems with how they treat
their employees’. They were accused of not giving their employees’ wages that fit accordingly
with what they think they should get paid. This has led them to experiment with increasing these
wages to avoid their political downfalls. Apparently, “In 2015 Wal-Mart decided that cost-
