Whole Foods Market

Whole Foods Market is an Austin, Texas-based natural foods grocer, which, as of May 2006, consisted of 183 locations in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain. Its CEO is John Mackey.

Whole Foods is widely known throughout the United States for its high quality natural food products, many of which qualify as certified organic. Many of their stores are certified humane by the Humane Farm Animal Care program, a collaborative program by organizations such as the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS)^*.

Whole Foods is currently in the midst of an international expansion; in 2004 the company purchased a chain of seven natural food stores in the United Kingdom called Fresh & Wild.

Whole Foods joined the ranks of the Fortune 500 in 2005, entering the list for the first time at position 479.

Labor relations

Along with other grocery retailers such as Wal-Mart and Wild Oats Markets Whole Foods has been accused by labor activists of union busting Madison, Wisconsin, in 2002 ^*" target="_blank" >was met with considerable resistance from Whole Foods CEO John Mackey. A controversial 2004 ruling by the National Labor Relations Board upheld the actions of Whole Foods at the Madison store , although many workers considered their tactics illegal and unethical. Further attempts at unionizing Whole Foods Market stores have been unsuccessful [http://www.wholeworkersunite.org/node/1445.

For nine consecutive years, the company has ranked favorably on Fortune magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For" list, most recently at number 15 in 2006 Among its primary values, the company lists "supporting team member happiness and excellence" [http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/company/corevalues.html. The company argues that its treatment of workers removes the needs for unions.

Company timeline

Source: Whole Foods

1978: John Mackey opens SaferWay in Austin, Texas (the name being a spoof of Safeway which operated stores in Austin at that time).

1980: SaferWay merges with an Austin natural grocery store to open as Whole Foods Market with a staff of 19.

1984: Expands outside of Austin with store in Houston.

1988: Expands outside of Texas with purchase of Whole Foods Company in New Orleans.

1991: Acquires Wellspring Grocery of North Carolina.

1992: Company goes public and is traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market; purchases Bread & Circus in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

1993: Acquires Mrs. Gooch's Natural Foods Markets in Los Angeles.

1995: Purchases the Northern California Bread of Life stores in the San Francisco Bay area.

1996: Purchases Fresh Fields on the East Coast and in the Midwest.

1997: Adds Florida Bread of Life stores; adds Whole Foods Market's 365 Everyday Value product line; purchases Allegro Coffee Company; acquires Merchant of Vino stores in the Detroit area.

1999: Acquires Nature's Heartland of Boston; opens 100th store in Torrance, California.

2000: Acquires Food 4 Thought Natural Food Market & Deli in Northern California.

2001: Opens first store in Manhattan; acquires three Harry's Farmers Market stores in Atlanta.

2002: Opens first location outside the United States in Canada (Toronto, Ontario); Whole Foods added to the NASDAQ-100 Index. Store in Madison, Wisconsin, unionizes.

2003: Becomes United States' first national "certified organic" grocer; acquires Select Fish of Seattle and opens seafood processing plant in Atlanta, Ga. Also, it is no longer called "Bread and Circus."

2004: Acquires seven Fresh & Wild stores in the United Kingdom.

2004: Whole Foods Market Madison no longer union after NLRB ruling.

2005: Opens new world headquarters in Austin.

2005: Downtown at the Gardens location opens in Palm Beach County two days after Hurricane Wilma.

References

www.fortune.com

External links

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Whole Foods Market

Labor relations

Company timeline

See also

References

External links