“Whole Foods Talks Dollars and Cents”
by Kara DiCamillo, Newport, Rhode Island on 05.20.06
The New York Times seems to be reporting a lot about food and groceries lately. As we were going through our newspaper pile today we came across this article (that we had intended on writing about earlier) with the title “Whole Foods Talks Dollars and Sense.” On the heels of our recent article which discussed Wal-Mart Going Organic, Whole Foods recently announced that in addition to their organic and fresh reputation, they want to add something else to their list of specialties: low prices. For the next 10 weeks, Whole Foods will be running print advertisements in New York City emphasizing “value” and “deals” (see the sample left).
Whole Foods says that the perception that they are more expensive than their competitors is not true and they want to set the record straight. Branding experts feel that the ads are “inconsistent with what the brand stands for” and that “the reality is that they have a premium looking store positioned as an all natural place to shop.” But Christina Minardi, a Whole Foods regional president who oversees the New York market says that they are “extremely competitively priced.” She feels the company is not doing a good job of getting the word out.
The New York Times reports that Business Day did a survey comparing groceries from several different national grocery stores and found that Whole Foods is, in fact, competitively priced with others like Trader Joes and Food Emporium. For example, an 8-ounced package of Philadelphia cream cheese was $1.99 at Whole Foods, $2.10 at Walgreen’s and $2.99 at Food Emporium. A 15-ounce box of Kashi Crunch cereal was $2.49 at Whole Foods, $2.69 at Trader Joe’s and $3.49 at Food Emporium.
The ads will be running in the City Section of the New York Times through July, which is not distributed anywhere outside of New York City. But depending on the feedback, the ads may eventually run elsewhere. Although we understand that Whole Foods wants to set the record straight, we still think that they show a disconnect with the brand. And certainly the price issue doesn’t seem to have hurt them thus far. So why do people think that Whole Foods is more expensive? Andrew Wolf, a grocery industry analyst, said “If your store looks cleaner and your products are better, you can create a price image that is higher than reality. You are being punished for the good.” Photos and story via ::New York Times
Well, don't I feel silly.
I shop at both Trader Joe's and Whole Foods for different products, but TJ is our base-market of choice.
My personal sense of the comparison between Trader Joe's and Whole Foods from shopping there is that WF is, er, on the whole, more expensive. TJ's even beats out ordinary supermarkets in many cases -- if the equivalent product can be found at an ordinary market.
Individual product prices may vary, as they say though, and I would be interested in a shopping basket comparison -- like the majors used to do for their "low price" TV ads.
I believe that "industry experts" are missing the whole point here. If you walk though ACME and look at the "organic" carrots they have no appeal because they are not appealing, and the price is maybe so so. At WF, however, the bulk organic carrots look wonderful and you are paying a bit more for wonderful bathed in a warm light and kept in a nice misted display. Then tour over to the WF Seafood department and the difference is an order of magnitude higher. Regular grocery store seafood generally comes in frozen, and is thawed out in the display case; and the non-WF salmon, for example, has no glisten, and tissue separating at the muscle boundaries, reflecting a state of semi-decay. Anyone who has caught a salmon and cleaned it themselves knows this is a sign of long past good. Of course it is more expensive to get it actually fresh. And there is no proper comparison here as a result. But folks do it subconsciously. Perhaps they don't realize the difference they are paying for at WF?
Maybe farmers are finding out that organic farming is a lot cheaper than they thought. So they are charging less and less to whole foods which in turn is lowering their prices.
see a little competition from wal-mart (even though wal-mart is purely evil) and now whole foods is running because of their high prices. it was almost like they had a monopoly on the organic supermarket
Whole Foods stores are pleasant, well thought out and above all clean. Walmart would have to completely rethink their corporate culture to compete in the organic market and even more, Walmart's business model of hammering suppliers on price won't work with organic food because farmers won't sell for less than it costs to produce unlike producers of crap plastic toys made by slave labor.
As a new convert to vegetarianism and learning how to eat healthy, I praise WHOLE FOODS to the max. WHOLE FOODS IS ART in the food market. Yes, other stores may be cheaper, but I walk into Whole Foods to get new ideas and talk to educated consumers. It is a great place to meet people.
When I walk into other supermarkets I get bored and I think the stores smell. When I walk into Whole Foods I get revived and I want to buy a cook book. I also love the cosmetic section and all the yummy soaps. They have helped me convert to a more conciously aware, cruelty free world.
Now if they we're a horrible union-busting company I might consider shopping there, but once you get past the image (which is really what whole*foods sells, an image that you're more progressive for shopping there) they're really not much better than Wal*Mart.
That would be all well and good if Whole Foods wasn't hell bent on destroying the little organics. Like the giant Wall Mart destroying the small town - Whole Foods refuses to let Columbus, Ohio's North Market be - instead lying to the politicos and the paper about how great it will be when a giant Whole Foods bring 20,000 people a month burning fossil fuels to come into the city center to do shopping at their proposed mega-mart. When they offer absolutely nothing that doesn't already exist in the downtown area by independents.
Whole Foods, "meh". Bunch of Jerks.
While it is true that Whole Foods makes it harder for small local organic farms to sell produce in town, you do have to give them some credit. It is true that they are selling this clean hippy image, but at least they treat their employees like humans. Wal-Mart never made it on the list of Fortune 100 best companies to work for.
Some people will never venture to the farmer's market to shop. If those people end up at Whole Foods instead of Wal-Mart or Piggly Wiggly, then I still say that's one for the environment. I'm not so naive to think that Whole Foods is some all-benevolent organic market that will save the planet, but I have to give credit where it is due.
Some who shop at Whole Foods might even be so inspired by gorgeous organic produce that they start really thinking about their food. Whole Foods could motivate some people to check out their local farm selection when they see that organic is tasty and not too pricey!
No, I don't have to give them any credit at all.
There are about a dozen suburban areas they could try to conquer, but instead they use deceptive politics and marketing to squeeze out the only people that have been carrying the torch in this market for years now.
Furthermore, Whole Foods' "gorgeous" organic is often times not, nor is it local, something the North Market has been promoting for years.
If Whole Foods replaced every Kroger in Ohio, I'd jump up and down and say "hooray". But instead, they've chosen to pull a Wal-Mart and target what little good is in Columbus retail. It's unconscionable, dirty, and contradictory to everything I would hope that they would stand for.
Hi,
If you want to compare WF to the other stores lets compare. I shop at the smallest of the WFmarket stores and I would tell you about my wonderful experience there.
The store/employees are always happy and pleasant and treat you like family.
They remember me and know how I would like my bags packaged.
They ask about my husband and my kids and if there was a discussion about someone being sick or going off to college, the next time I come back they would always follow up with you by asking…… how is so and so? It is the GREAT Customer service that keeps me going back.
Next you will meet a lot of people who share the same interests……we talk about health and the environment and we share ideas and concerns.
You get so much information on alternative medicine, cooking, eating right, health, exercising and all this is just free information packaged nicely for you to take at the customer service area.
They even walk me to my car and unpack my Groceries.
They allow you to taste and try anything that you want in the store.
They look out for bad items when cashing and ask you if you want to change it. If you are lucky you may even have the exchanged item for free……
The PRICES are very competitive, like any other store you have items that are priced higher for those who can afford it. They accept Access Cards and have the store brand(365) that is priced similar or even better than the rest.
So my reason for shopping at WF is if I can get all my grocery at a similar price and with the added benefits( organic and free from the harmful fats and food additives ) at WF, then I am going to make an informed and wise decision for my environment, my family and myself.
Finally, it is a great place to shop and people should do some research before saying that the store is over priced. You cannot compare…….. Chemically prepared/processed food is always cheaper because it’s object is to be mass-produced with the objective of making the most money for minimum input, without any regard for the environment or our health and well being.