Things
you didn't know about Whole Foods By Dan Myers Published September 11, 2015.
Love
it or hate it, Whole Foods Market has become one of the best-known and most
revolutionary food stores in America. But even if you refuse to shop for food
anywhere else, we bet that there are some things you didn't know about this
insanely popular chain. Like most companies, Whole Foods started off small. It
was the brainchild of founders John Mackey and Renee Lawson, who in 1978
borrowed $45,000 to open a natural foods store in Austin. They called it
SaferWay, a spoof of popular supermarket brand Safeway. In 1980 they merged
with a health food shop called Clarksville Natural Grocery, and the resulting
first Whole Foods Market opened September 20, 1980. The next several decades
are a story of rapid expansion and increasing cultural influence. Whether Whole
Foods inspired the current movement toward eating healthier and less processed
foods or is simply piggybacking on it is up for debate, but you can't deny that
the company plays a major role in the current conversation about what we put
into our bodies. They were the first nationally certified organic grocer in the
country; all their meat is antibiotic- and hormone-free, and animal welfare is
a top priority; their private-label 365 products are free of artificial
flavorings, colorings, sweeteners, preservatives, and hydrogenated fats; and
nearly 4,800 products sold at Whole Foods are Non-GMO Project-verified. Whole
Foods definitely came along at the right time, and today there are about 420
locations, with $12.9 billion in revenue (and $551 million in net income) in
2013. John Mackey is still with the company as CEO and is today one of the most
influential voices in the organic food movement. A Fortune 500 company, it's
also the 30th most productive retailer in the country in terms of revenue. Any
way you slice it, it's clear that Whole Foods is on a roll. 1. It
Expanded Primarily by Acquiring Its Competitors Like many companies that
expand rapidly, Whole Foods swallowed up everything in its path. It purchased
the Whole Food Company in 1988, and throughout the 1990s and 2000s acquired
other natural food stores everywhere it went, including Wellspring Grocery in
North Carolina, Bread & Circus in Massachusetts, Fresh Fields on the East
Coast and in the Midwest, Mrs. Gooch's in Los Angeles, Merchant of Vino in
Detroit, Bread of Life in Northern California and Florida, and Food For Thought
in Northern California. 2. The Founders Were Forced to Live at the First
Store Shortly after opening SaferWay, Mackey and Lawson were evicted from
their home because they stored food products there. To save money, they decided
to live at the store, which had no shower because it was zoned for commercial
use. They bathed by using a shower hose attached to the dishwasher. 3.
The First Store Was Completely Destroyed a Year After It Opened On
May 25, 1981, a year after the first Whole Foods opened, it was completely
destroyed when the most damaging flood in 70 years hit Austin. Four hundred
thousand dollars' worth of inventory and equipment was ruined, and the company
had no insurance. But customers, neighbors, staff members, investors, vendors,
and even creditors pitched in to help get the store back on its feet, and it
reopened less than a month later. 4. It Has Struggled in the United
Kingdom The company opened its first full-sized U.K. store in 2007, three
years after acquiring seven Fresh & Wild stores. By September 2008,
however, three of the Fresh & Wilds had shut down, and due to financial
troubles they weren't meeting profitability goals. Things are beginning to turn
around, however: Today, there are nine Whole Foods locations in the U.K., the
majority in London. 5. Employees Aren't Allowed to Interfere with
Shoplifters While some locations hire security guards, many have no
protections against shoplifters. The company has a "no heroes
policy," so store employees are strictly forbidden from trying to stop
shoplifters.
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