Panera Bread 2015 Annual Report Download - page 16

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structure. As a result, we may be required to construct additional fresh dough facilities or utilize alternative manufacturing and
distribution processes consistent with our quality standards to address these needs.
Our supply chain management system is intended to provide bakery-cafes with high-quality food from reliable sources. We are
committed to having a positive impact on the food system by sourcing responsibly raised livestock and poultry, as well as high-
quality ingredients without artificial additives, including added MSG and artificial trans fats.
We contract externally for the manufacture of the remaining baked goods in the bakery-cafes, referred to as sweet goods. Sweet
goods products are completed at each bakery-cafe by our professionally trained bakers. Completion includes finishing with fresh
toppings and other ingredients and baking to established artisan standards utilizing unique recipes.
We use independent distributors to distribute our proprietary sweet goods products and other materials to bakery-cafes. With the
exception of products supplied directly by the fresh dough facilities, virtually all other food products and supplies for our bakery-
cafes, including paper goods, coffee, and smallwares, are contracted by us and delivered by vendors to an independent distributor
for delivery to the bakery-cafes. We maintain a list of approved suppliers and distributors from which we and our franchisees
must select. We leverage our size and scale to improve the quality of our ingredients, improve purchasing efficiency, and negotiate
purchase agreements, which includes purchasing commodities under agreements with terms generally ranging from one month
to one year, usually at a fixed price, with most of our approved suppliers to achieve cost reduction for both us and our customers.
Food quality and safety has been and will continue to be a priority for us. We have rigorous processes in place and follow industry
standard practices for quality and safety. We monitor evolving best practices in food safety and work with our vendors to implement
them. We believe these processes help to ensure we serve safe, wholesome food at our bakery-cafes.
Competition
We compete with a variety of national, regional and locally-owned food service companies, including specialty food, casual dining
and quick-service restaurants, bakeries, and restaurant retailers. Our bakery-cafes compete in several segments of the restaurant
business: breakfast, lunch, gathering place, dinner, take home, catering, delivery, and consumer packaged goods. We believe we
are able to compete favorably against other food service providers through our convenient bakery-cafe locations, appealing
environment, high-quality food, beverages, customer service, and marketing. Some of our competitors are larger than we are and
have substantially greater financial resources than we do. For further information regarding competition, see Item 1A. Risk Factors.
Employees
As of December 29, 2015, we had approximately 47,200 total associates of whom 23,800 work, on average, at least 25 hours per
week. Approximately 44,400 associates were employed in our bakery-cafe operations as bakers, managers, and associates,
approximately 1,500 were employed in our fresh dough facility operations, and approximately 1,300 were employed in general
or administrative functions, principally in our support centers. We do not have any collective bargaining agreements with our
associates and we consider our employee relations to be good. We place a priority on staffing our bakery-cafes, fresh dough
facilities, and support center operations with skilled associates and invest in training programs to maintain the quality of our
operations.
Proprietary Rights
Our brand, intellectual property, and our confidential and proprietary information are very important to our business and competitive
position. We protect these assets through a combination of trademark, copyright, trade secret, unfair competition, and contract
laws.
The Panera®, Panera Bread®, Saint Louis Bread Co.®, Panera® Catering, You Pick Two®, Paradise Bakery®, Paradise Bakery &
Café®, the Mother Bread® design, MyPanera®, and Panera to You® trademarks are some of the trademarks we have registered with
the United States Patent and Trademark Office. In addition, we have filed to register other trademarks with the United States
Patent and Trademark Office. We have also registered some of our trademarks in a number of foreign countries. In addition, we
have registered and maintain numerous Internet domain names.
Corporate History and Additional Information
We are a Delaware corporation, formed in 1981. Our principal offices are located at 3630 South Geyer Road, Suite 100, St. Louis,
Missouri, 63127, and our telephone number is [phone].
We are subject to the informational requirements of the Exchange Act, and, accordingly, we file reports, proxy statements, and
other information with the SEC. Such reports, proxy statements, and other information are publicly available and can be read and