Brief Introductory and history of Whole Foods Market

From the fairly humble beginning of being a one-store entrepreneur living on the third floor and taking baths in the dishwasher, John Mackey has seen his 1978 Safer Way grocery store grow into an $8 billion a year corporation.  As of September 2008, Whole Foods had 264 stores in the United States, six in Canada, and five in the United Kingdom.

The Whole Foods new headquarters building is located above its 80,000 square foot flagship store in Austin, Texas.  Through a long series of acquisitions, John Mackey has created a niche retailer which enjoys lofty profits in a very price competitive industry that is typically characterized by accordingly low profit margins.  With projected 2009 sales of more than $8 billion, and a goal of $12 billion by 2010, Whole Foods currently has 275 stores, and 50,000 plus team members.

Two years after opening his SaferWay store, John Mackey merged with Clarksville Natural Grocery in Austin, Texas.  This resulted in the opening of the original Whole foods Market in 1980.  In 1984, Whole Foods expanded out of Austin into Houston, Dallas, New Orleans, and one store in California. This expansion was accomplished in significant part through many acquisitions of other natural food chains throughout its three decade history.

In 2004, Whole Foods entered the United Kingdom by acquiring an existing chain of seven natural food stores.  In 2007, they opened an 80,000 square foot, three level store in West London.  Initially they planned for up to forty more stores in that country. In fiscal year 2008, sales in the U.K. accounted for approximately three percent of total sales. 

The company is heavily involved in environmental issues and community involvement. They donate at least five percent of their net profits yearly to charitable causes.  Whole Foods made the U. S Environmental Protection Agency’s list of the “Top 25 Green Power Partners” with such efforts as: eliminating plastic, working to ensure the humane treatment of animals, protection of the fishing industry, and offsetting its energy costs through wind power credits.