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.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/apr/29/whole-foods-hard-times-retail
the place is nice and clean, good food, nice workers. but a bit over priced. just because people make a lot of money in the area, most of them are not going to spend like they did in the past.
I only go there for select items and go elsewhere for my main groceries. Anyone who goes there for all their grocery shopping simply has more money than sense.
Yes, I agree only for select items; but I am eternally grateful to them; for making healthy produce readily available many years ago,when other supermarkets would sell, for example, apples with that horrible chemical and the small health stores in Ridgewood , few frequented them, so their produce was going to rot, overly ripe. Then Whole Foods came along and then other supermarkets copy them, and now they are having trouble staying competitive. If they go out of business there should be a monument to their memory because of how they influenced healthy farm practices. I am not kidding and won’t use my name, because everyone will laugh at me.
Who cares if anyone laughs at you. It’s pretty simple…WF started small with a great idea and fresh, organic products. Expensive…yes. But then as usual ego and tons of cash ruined the founders and now eventually the company as the private equity firms ( Ridgewood residents) will gobble it up and spit out the remains. And thats that.
The circle of life… except in Ridgewood which likes to preserve remnants of the past “as is”