3. Panera is doing well financially. Its revenues and profits have been growing steadily for the past five years. The gross margin is 61.4% and its net margin is 7.46%. Panera is liquid, with a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt to equity ratio of 0.52. Inventory turns over 13 times per year. The ROA is 14.9%, the ROE 22.93% and the ROC 19.3% (MSN Moneycentral, 2012). In general, these figures are positive and moving in the right direction. There are no red flags in the Panera Bread financial statements that would indicate that the company is not performing well.

4. The chains that are the closest rivals to Panera are Subway, which is much larger and smaller sandwich companies like Quizno's and Boston Market. In terms of immediate market share, the closest rivals are lower-end companies like Chick Fil a and Arby's. Panera Bread also must compete against...
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