Whole Foods plans to drop prices, "shift away from its localized model"

[Miles Archer]

Whole Foods may finally lower its prices—in the hopes of shedding the nickname "whole paycheck." The company, which, according to the Wall Street Journal, is in the midst of "its longest stretch of same-store sales declines since going public in 1992," has appointed Don Clark, a former Target executive, to help lower the prices.

To do that, the company will shift away from its localized model, which stocks artisanal ingredients and produce from local farmers and move toward a more national model with a smaller variety of items on shelves. However, a quarter of shoppers said in a recent survey that they shop at Whole Foods precisely for access to these products they can't find elsewhere.

The team says the new approach will balance those two directions but doesn't specify how precisely or how much prices will drop. Stay tuned.

https://www.tastingtable.com/cook/national/whole-foods-lower-prices

[defacto7]

1. It may or may not be a good idea for the business

in the long run, but it definitely won't be a good idea for its present clientele or small local farmers. More big corporate thinking where individuals matter less and less.

[WinkyDink]

2. Very misguided idea. Local is where the future is.

[hlthe2b]

3. I like that they offer local offerings, but what gives me pause is the horrific waste of food...

The amount of $$ prepared food they throw out, rather than donate to local homeless shelters is OBSCENE. At least that is the case with the two stores I have most often frequented in Colorado. I finally just decided I could not abide by that and essentially no longer shop there, even for the items I can't find elsewhere.