This is a very interesting article. Actually, there have been a slew of interesting articles lately about Whole Foods and the FTC trying to block their purchase of Wild Oats. I've been following the "drama" mostly because I'm the purveyor of a very small tea business and I'm hoping that someday soon those teas are going to be available on the shelves of health food stores near you.
I'm also following this story because there's rumblings in our own little Santa Cruz that Whole Foods is coming to town. It plans to open not one, but TWO locations here in a town that already has many health food store options of its own.
And this revelation about its business practices in relation to its competitors makes me just a little bit nervous. I will admit that when I first heard that Whole Foods was coming to Santa Cruz I actually cheered. While I absolutely LOVE Staff of Life (my very local health food store), there are some things that I am able to get at Whole Foods that I just can not get at Staff of Life. And because I am the only one on the planet who seems to ever "request" these items from Staff of Life, they just never carry them. And you know what? That's okay. I just stop at Whole Foods whenever I'm near one (and they're all a substantial driving distance away...so that isn't all that often) and pick up the things that they carry that I can not get in Santa Cruz. It's all good.
But...having a Whole Foods that is actually here in town? Right down the street? Well, I was genuinely excited if for the gas savings alone. However, now, I'm not so sure.
You see, I'm quite attached to Staff of Life. And the folks who work there. And the fact that even though they may not have ALL the things I want on an everyday basis, they always know me, they always have fantastic sales and they really do represent "Santa Cruz" to me. I don't want Whole Foods opening right down the street to create an environment that doesn't allow for fair competition. It will be my intention to shop at BOTH stores. But this article (and the others that have preceded it) makes me very nervous. It seems that Whole Foods isn't so much about fair competition as it is about taking the entire paycheck!
I guess it all remains to be seen what will happen. The store(s) here in Santa Cruz haven't opened yet and don't even seem like they'll be opening any time soon. It's all, as they say, just organic food for thought.
