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...business model has given investors a hearty appetite for Whole Foods stock. The share price of the chain of 135 "supernatural" stores, based in Austin, Texas, has risen 125% over the past two years and more than 750% since the chain went public in 1992. Analysts marvel that Whole Foods' mature stores (those open more than five years) average 6% annual revenue growth, vs. 1.5% for the typical chain. Annual sales per square foot--a key measure of a retailer's health--are about $650 at Whole Foods, compared with about $450 at many conventional supermarkets. Says analyst Andrew Wolf...
...step toward Whole Foods' goal was its acquisition of Harry's Farmers Market, an ailing Atlanta-area chain that Mackey scooped up last year for $35 million. Harry's was losing money, and is dragging down Whole Foods' earnings. But the chain provides access to the Southeast, where Whole Foods is weak. And Harry's three megastores fit the prototype for Whole Foods' expansion plans; they are massive, fun (with cookouts on weekends) and strong in perishables and prepared foods--high-margin segments that account for 60% of Whole Foods' sales...
Nearly every item is screened for artificial ingredients, but what's blessed as "natural" can seem arbitrary. The chain is phasing out all goods with hydrogenated fats, meaning no more Pepperidge Farm Goldfish and Carr's crackers. But it sells its own chocolates and cheese puffs. Rationale: the chocolates contain organic cocoa and raw cane sugar, and the cheddar puffs contain real cheese and no artificial colors...
...pizza business, for example; the Portland, Ore., outlet had housewares sections and a cooking school; and in many areas local chefs were coming in to teach shoppers how to use organic and natural ingredients in recipes. The formula appeals to customers like Matt Marchbanks, 25, who shops at the chain for almost everything--except Krispy Kreme doughnuts and disposable diapers. "If I want good meat, I come here," he says...
Traditional grocery chains, saddled with flat sales and shriveled margins, find they need to sell more gourmet-health fare to compete against the likes of both Whole Foods and Wal-Mart, the nation's largest grocer. Regional supers such as Pratt's Food Supermarkets--a chain in the Oklahoma City, Okla., area--are fighting back with more organic dairy, meats and dry goods. Kroger, the nation's No. 2 grocer, has carved out "natural food" departments in nearly a third of its 2,400 stores and is expanding its private-label organic brand, which includes cereals and potato chips, with...