Whole Foods
Patrick Arnason MGMT 475 Paper #1 1/23/12
Ensuring Whole Food 's Future
The organic foods giant originated in 1978 as a simple dream by its CEO and founder John Mackey: to do something different with food. His vision first began with the simply realization of food 's importance in personal well-being. It all began as a humble storefront in Austin Texas, Mackey and his then girlfriend, Renee Hardy, who made everything from scratch and helped develop this grocer empire. Together, their budding company became America 's first national certified Organic grocer (Whole Foods Market, 2011). Today, with over 330 stores expanding across North American and the UK and with around 60,000 employees, Whole Foods Market is the world 's largest grocer of natural and organic foods.
Current Strategy
Whole Food 's path to international success stems from CEO and founder, John Mackey 's initial vision for the company, “To promote vitality and well-being for all individuals by offering the highest quality, least processed, most flavorful natural and naturally preserved foods available.” (John Mackey) Rather than becoming one of the dime-a-dozen smaller retail chains throughout America, Whole Foods set out to open its own massive stores of around 50,000 square feet (Meador & Britton). After Austin Texas, they expanded out to Houston, Dallas, Palo Alto, and even Eastward to New Orleans during the 1980 's. As Whole Foods continued to expand, through both opening new stores and merging with other companies, it began acquiring existing natural food stores, so that some twenty years later in 2006, it was the nation 's largest natural/organic retailer. From day one, their concept has been to create an inviting and interactive store atmosphere where shopping for food was a fun and pleasurable experience.
Analysis of the Industry
The Grocery industry, which includes conventional supermarkets, supercenter, limited-assortment and natural gourmet supermarkets, netted approximately
Ensuring Whole Food 's Future
The organic foods giant originated in 1978 as a simple dream by its CEO and founder John Mackey: to do something different with food. His vision first began with the simply realization of food 's importance in personal well-being. It all began as a humble storefront in Austin Texas, Mackey and his then girlfriend, Renee Hardy, who made everything from scratch and helped develop this grocer empire. Together, their budding company became America 's first national certified Organic grocer (Whole Foods Market, 2011). Today, with over 330 stores expanding across North American and the UK and with around 60,000 employees, Whole Foods Market is the world 's largest grocer of natural and organic foods.
Current Strategy
Whole Food 's path to international success stems from CEO and founder, John Mackey 's initial vision for the company, “To promote vitality and well-being for all individuals by offering the highest quality, least processed, most flavorful natural and naturally preserved foods available.” (John Mackey) Rather than becoming one of the dime-a-dozen smaller retail chains throughout America, Whole Foods set out to open its own massive stores of around 50,000 square feet (Meador & Britton). After Austin Texas, they expanded out to Houston, Dallas, Palo Alto, and even Eastward to New Orleans during the 1980 's. As Whole Foods continued to expand, through both opening new stores and merging with other companies, it began acquiring existing natural food stores, so that some twenty years later in 2006, it was the nation 's largest natural/organic retailer. From day one, their concept has been to create an inviting and interactive store atmosphere where shopping for food was a fun and pleasurable experience.
Analysis of the Industry
The Grocery industry, which includes conventional supermarkets, supercenter, limited-assortment and natural gourmet supermarkets, netted approximately
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