So there is quite the uproar here at hippie central. It was announce yesterday that we were
buying one of our biggest rivals,
Wild Oats. Currently, we have about 190 stores. We just acquired 110 more. Wow. I think this is a good move. We just weren't able to grow as fast as we needed by building new stores one at a time. Of course not all of the 110 stores will stay open. For instance, there are two Sun Harvest markets here in Austin that are owned by Wild Oats. Both are small, dingy, and no competition for two Whole Foods and two Central Markets. I can't imagine that those would stay open for very long.
When the news came through yesterday, we were initially very excited (especially about the stock price). I've never been through an acquisition before, and it sounded exciting. It took us about five minutes before we started thinking "wait a minute, that's 110 more stores that need to be accounted for..."
I foresee some very busy days ahead.
5 comments:
Actually I think the two Sun Harvest stores in Austin are worth keeping. They could be cleaned up without too much expense, and they would allow customers to shop near their homes rather than driving all the way downtown and navigating through the entire Whole Foods Theme Park Experience when all they want is a bag of tofu chips or a bottle of fungus juice.
B, is that you?
Actually, I heard speculation in a meeting today that at least the South Wild Oats might stay open as a small format store for exactly the reason you are talking about.
Yup. Howdja guess?
Whole Foods is a great company and I wish them success.
But don't you think that closing the Sun Harvest near Northcross might cause hardship among the local senior population? It's very useful for people who are mobile but who can't handle the trek through the large stores and the large parking lots. And they have some unusual things - we go there every once in awhile for stuff we don't see elsewhere.
My guess is that if that Sun Harvest closes, and people are forced to shop at an enormous store, a lot of folks will choose neither Whole Foods or Central Market- but go WalMart instead.
Annie
Annie, you might be right. There is a lot of talk now about having a few stores that emulate Trader Joe's, a chain known for small stores, lots of store-brands, and cheap prices.
Unfortunately, I am a lowly peon, so I have to just wait and see along with everyone else. :)
Post a Comment