Overview of Management
Overview of Management: Kudler Fine Food
“Kathy Kudler, was the Vice-President of Marketing for a large defense contractor. Weary
of the constant travel and the pressures of corporate life, Kathy was looking for other
opportunities. As it happened, Kathy relieved her stress through gourmet cooking and on a
shopping trip for ingredients for a gourmet repast, she suddenly realized that there was an
opportunity for an upscale epicurean food shop in La Jolla. Kathy developed a business
plan, obtained financing and six months later, on June 18, 1998, the first Kudler Fine
Foods opened. Within nine months the store was at break-even and was profitable for the
year.” (UoP, 2007)
Kudler Fine Foods is a local upscale specialty food store located in the San Diego
metropolitan area, California. The company has 3 locations: La Jolla, Del Mar and
Encinitas. The stores are stocked with domestic and imported foodstuffs. Divided into the
following departments: Fresh Bakery and Pastries; Fresh Produce; Fresh Meat and
Seafood; Condiments and Packaged Foods; Cheeses and Specialty Dairy Products.
The Kudler Fine Foodss mission is: “provide our customers the finest in selected
foddstuffs, wines, and related needs in an unparalleled consumer environment” (UoP,
2007). The strategic objective is to increase loyalty and profitability of consumers. To
archive this goal, the company is working to expand the services (revenue increase),
frequent shopper program (revenue increase) and increasing efficiency (cost reduction).
At Kudler Fine Foods, the central administration team is formed by Kathy Kudler as the
president since the start in 1998. Kathy is the founder and responsible for the strategic
vision and decisions leading the company to a brilliant future. Harvey Stephens is acting as
the director of Finance and Accounting. In this role, Harvey is responsible for managing all
corporate expenses, assets, liabilities and capital. In the assets space, Harvey need control
all inventory reports. In the financial space, Harvey is responsible for all corporate
accounts, budgets and all bank reconciliation procedures. Yvonne Reynolds is acting as the
director of store operations since 1998. In this role, Yvonne is responsible for Managing
the operations of the three stores, including inventory, purchasing and logistics. Yvonne is
also responsible for the store safety, facility maintenance, securityand compliance with
state and federal regulations. Brenda Wagner is acting as the director of
administration/human resources since 1998. In this role, Brenda is responsible for
employment, compensation, labor relations, benefits, employee services and training.
The technology and the Internet used by Kudler Fine Foods currently are not efficient. The
