"Planning and Determining Strategies for Growth " Please respond to the following: From the case study, analyze Zingerman?s Deli business strategy. Next, suggest at least three business opportunities for possible expansion for this company. Next, suggest at least five internal and creative initiatives that Zingerman?s Deli can consider to ensure that employees are empowered and committed to change. Explain the key benefits and possible implications of each initiative. From the critical thinking exercise, determine two to three growth strategies that are suitable for the business. Next, determine the main aspects of the corporate culture that will help to make the business strategy successful while encouraging opportunities for potential long-term growth. Support your response.

ounded in 1982 by Paul Saginaw and Ari Weinzweig, Zingerman?s Deli is considered an institution in the bustling college town of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Although barely clearing $100 in sales on its first day of business in its cramped, 1,200-square-foot premises, Zingerman?s Deli quickly grew into one of the city?s most popular places to eat and buy amazingly delicious food.¹

With their growing success, Saginaw and Weinzweig wanted to build a true, local business with the highest-quality products, service, and reputation. To do that, they fervently believed they had to stay a one-of-a-kind entity. They didn?t want to see a chain of Zingerman?s Delis, run by half-hearted salaried managers, or worse, franchise their concept and have strangers eventually erode the quality and standards they set.

?We knew we wanted to have just one store and that we were not going to grow by replicating ourselves,? said Saginaw. ?For us, by definition, if there was more than one store, it wasn?t unique anymore. This wasn?t a political belief or ideology; it was a lifestyle we wanted to live.?

What did Saginaw mean by ?lifestyle?? He and Weinzweig wanted to spend their time actually working at the store, getting to know the employees and customers intimately, and being committed members of the Ann Arbor community.

According to an interview in the?New York Times, Zingerman?s founders have had ?dozens and dozens of opportunities to franchise, sell the name, take the check, and walk away.?²

Instead, they rejected conventional business-school wisdom, and chose to grow ?deep? by adding related businesses. Their first was Zingerman?s Bakehouse. The Bakehouse began by making the breads and pastries sold in the deli, but soon began selling to other restaurants, retailers, and consumers.

Over the years, the ?Zingerman?s Community of Businesses? grew to include a catering firm, a mail order food business, a coffee company, a creamery, and a full-service restaurant. They even have a training company to help teach other small businesses the Zingerman?s secrets of customer service and management.

Saginaw and Weinzweig start a new business when someone they know and trust?typically, a current employee?comes to them with what they consider a promising idea. They must develop a complete business plan and also have a hands-on role in leading and managing the business. There are no absentee owners in the Zingerman?s family.

Each of the Zingerman?s companies is a separate legal entity, owned by one to three partners. One of the partners is always Dancing Sandwich Enterprises, the 50/50 partnership of Saginaw and Weinzweig, which holds their joint financial interests in all Zingerman?s companies.

Although each of the companies is independently owned and operated, all businesses are part of ?ZingCOB,? Zingerman?s Community of Businesses. All partners of all Zingerman?s-related companies agree to a set of guiding principles. They make all major governance decisions across the companies by consensus. With regularly scheduled meetings every other week, the partners work closely together, troubleshoot problems, and make strategic and tactical plans.

?The other businesses don?t control you, but you want their support,? said Saginaw. ?It?s your decision to make, but at least make a decision that everyone can live with. This is why we meet every other week, as all decisions are by consensus.?

One Zingerman?s business not visible to the public is Zingerman?s Service Network. The network provides all ZingCOB companies with services related to financial leadership and management, payroll and benefits, human resources, information technology, marketing, and graphics.

Growing the business in this unique way wouldn?t be possible without exceptional employees. Yet Zingerman?s employees weren?t necessarily ?exceptional? when they were hired. Zingerman?s invests heavily in training, and emphasizes continual training for each employee in every ZingCOB company. The training is not merely in rote job skills, but training to be able to make independent decisions, even as to how to clear tables or take out garbage.

Saginaw believes that ?leadership? is a quality that every employee is capable of. This, too, goes against conventional wisdom that says employees in ?low-skill? jobs like food service should merely be trained in completing routines, not acting independently.

Zingerman?s also provides highly competitive benefits that include health care, food discounts, and generous vacations that add up to as much as six paid weeks off. Employees are involved when setting goals for each of the companies every year and get bonuses if the goals are exceeded.

Whenever a new employee is hired, the first-day orientation is always provided by either Saginaw or Weinzweig. ?It?s the last thing we would ever delegate,? said Saginaw. ?It?s very important that you hear from the founders what it is we are trying to accomplish as an organization. I tell people that if you want to stake a career here, I have a responsibility to work with you and see that it happens.?

It?s certainly working. Today, the Zingerman?s Community of Businesses has annual revenues in excess of $36 million and employs more than 500 people. Revenue has grown, on average, at more than 10 percent per year. Most telling of all, the ?family of businesses? has become a model for other local businesses that want to grow up without selling out.?

?Community Food Enterprise: Local Success in a Global Marketplace.? The Wallace Center at Winrock International Business Alliance for Local Living Economies.

?A Corner Deli with International Appeal,? by Micheline Maynard, the?New York Times. May 3, 2007.