Hard times for Whole Foods: 'People say it's for pretentious people. I can see why'

[nitpicker]

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/apr/29/whole-foods-hard-times-retail

Hard times for Whole Foods: 'People say it's for pretentious people. I can see why'

The upscale grocery chain is valued at almost $12bn, but six straight quarters of declining sales have led to speculation of a takeover bid. What went wrong?

Lunchtime customers at Whole Foods in Manhattan’s Union Square had little trouble expressing the shortcomings that have led the once high-flying, organic-focused retailer to become linked with a takeover. “I love the sushi, but I wouldn’t shop here except maybe for a special ingredient,” said Argentinian software designer Benjamin Vinas. “People say Whole Foods is for pretentious people, and I can see why. It’s too expensive. I don’t have the budget.” Vinas was not the only customer to express a similar point of view. Others said that for their groceries they went several blocks north and west to lower-cost rival Trader Joe’s, where products may not be so exquisitely selected but are, in general, more uniformly discounted.

Maria Johnson, a postgraduate student, said Whole Foods’ pricing, with some items marked competitively and other expensive, was inconvenient. “I only buy body lotion and lunch here. And maybe spices,” Johnson said. “There are so many different price points you feel like you are missing out on the more fun, expensive things – and when you are shopping for the cheaper, more affordable things, you’re reminded of the things you can’t afford.”

But the views of Manhattan’s grocery shoppers point to only part of the problem for Whole Foods, sometimes called Whole Paycheck, which has been facing a backlash from consumers. Founded in Austin, Texas, in 1980, Whole Foods Market, to give it its official name, has about 462 locations and a market value of almost $12bn. The chain helped make health food and organic food mainstream, and in its boom years shook up the food retail industry. Whole Foods had grand plans for a UK expansion too, opening its first outpost in Kensington in 2004 with plans for 40 more. But Whole Foods has stalled: like much of the retail sector, it faces economic headwinds including razor-thin margins, competition from other retailers offering organic food, and increasingly price-conscious consumers.

In February, the company announced it would close nine stores: in Chicago, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, and Georgia, and two each in Colorado and California. The closures, which followed six straight quarters of sales declines, represented the first downsizing since 2008. Founder and chief executive John Mackey explained that the business had changed because “the more conventional, mainstream supermarkets have upped their game. The world is very different today than it was five years ago.”
(snip)

Outside Trader Joe’s, Brooklyn homemaker Eva Lev said she rarely visits Whole Foods nowadays. “It’s like that Jim Gaffigan joke – Whole Foods on Sunday is just a refugee camp for people with too much money.” Lev added she prefers Trader Joe’s “because it seems like an everyman’s place, and you can still get organic”.

[madaboutharry]

1. They can start the reform process

by lowering the price of the $12.99 per lb Chicken Salad.

[Galileo126]

2. "Whole Foods on Sunday is just a refugee camp for people with too much money."

[Warpy]

3. WF was going for the solidly middle to upper middle class in the suburbs

and that class is largely gone. They're nice enough stores and their produce is really very good, but I've always felt more comfortable in the downscale Food Co-op or Sprouts. I always felt like an intruder in WF.