well, but ... megamergers are bad for the market, right?

RIGHT?

jesus, it's not a conspiracy. for once the system is working; be glad.

I live in a market (Evanston, IL) where Wild Oats and Wholefoods compete and my family is better off because of it. The community is better off because of it.

I say to anybody who wants to fight FOR this merger because they think other people are playing politics to prevent it...be very careful what you wish for!

I've been watching this and wondering what the impact of such a merger would be. It's true enough that the FTC's opposition is absurd in the face of the mergers they've allowed, but I have definitely wondered if this merger would be a good thing for the organic market.

I don't have a Whole Foods very near me. The nearest one is about 30-45 minutes away, depending on traffic. Not a place I go to because of that. I have a Henry's (owned by Wild Oats) within just a couple miles. No idea if the distant Whole Foods has any real impact on it.

I know my mother is against the merger, simply because she likes Henry's and loathes Whole Foods, which is near to her.

While I'm not enthusiastic about this merger, I do think it's inconsistent for the FTC to oppose it.

i'm never thrilled about mergers that lean towards monopolies/oligopolies
however, as Slate notes, the FTC hasn't exactly been pushing its anti-trust legislation that much recently

backing up a little, I might say that I think Whole Foods stinks. Their produce is very expensive (and no, I don't think it's because it's higher quality or hogwash like that.) I grew up in Brooklyn, and shopped at the Park Slope Food Coop, which was entirely member owned and operated. Because of this, high quality organic produce was typically cheaper at the coop than non-organic produce was at local supermarkets.

I now live in Atlanta, and the local food coop here is nowhere near as cheap as the park slope one. Which is odd b/c I figured there'd be more FARMS IN GEORGIA THAN IN NY! I guess it also has something to do with the local coop here making more of a profit margin than the other one. I dunno.

Anyways, forget about whole foods (good, bad, plain as they may be) and support your local, non-coporate food coop!

Vast right-wing conspiracy by the military-industrial-complex, funded by agribusiness (that means fertilizer-biotech-pesticide companies like Monsanto and Kimberly-Clark amongst others) to hinder a merger that would further popularize a hippie-Democrat friendly business and dent away at industrial agribusiness? To some degree, maybe.

But places like Whole Foods also have a place for organic crops once industrial agriculture phases over to "industrial organic". So they would just ween those companies over to a mutual commercial interest.

I wouldn't want any co-ops or small natural markets squashed because of this, so I am skeptic, but also skeptic why all the other previous offenders got approved...

The impact of this merger will not be on the consumer. In fact, this merger would more than likely benefit the consumer by eventually lowering prices... or at least keeping them stable longer.
Where the impact will be felt is by the orgranic grower. With one less place to sell their products organic growers will get squeezed. We need MORE organic markets, not less, to encourage more organic growers.

How are the "blue state" storesif they are based out of Texas and Colorado. Did I miss something? I live in GEORGIA and shop and WF all the time. Didn't know I was a liberal!?!

Anyway you slice it, this is a good deal for green. The long arm of Geroge W., though, is already working via the Justice Department to make sure his non-green cronies in businesses threatened by an even bigger Whole Foods are protected. This man knows no reasonable limits. I'm not a believer in evil, but this man continues to test my convictions. www.thesourceofleadership.com

"But places like Whole Foods also have a place for organic crops once industrial agriculture phases over to "industrial organic". So they would just ween those companies over to a mutual commercial interest."

I dont understand what you are saying here. Whole Foods is more "industrial organic" than not. the merger would just further propagate the industrial organic culture. There are very very few "locally grown" products available and even less from small local farms. As Whole Foods grows, there is no where to go but corporate, and thus industrial.

But I am surprised they are hitting snags, since the other mergers happened.

Gone are the Good Knights!

Whether Whole Foods and Wild Oats merge is not the issue. I wonder, where are the industrialist, the entrepreneurs, the visionaries, the true creators of this country. Where are the Good Knights that thrive on competition and who are willing to keep this game we call capitalism, ALIVE.

The real question is why do they want to merge? Is this one more example of stock holders cashing in on their heritage? Have we become so short-sided in our thinking? Is there no one to come to the aid of Wild Oats? Shame on us!

It seems to me, when those that can do something to keep capitalism alive don't then we all will lose in the end; and this experiment we call capitalism will fail. How much further away will this failure be from Facism? I pray, God help us on our course.

This is really a good thing economically. Considering that Whole Foods and Wild Oats are really the only two fully organic and sustainably-minded grocery stores out there that operate at scale large enough to be able to stick to their core competencies, it would be a pretty bad thing if they merged.

Look, love it or hate it, these companies are still companies and I would just guess- I don't know for a fact, mind you- that they don't base their strategic decisions as much on sustainability as financial viability or probability of success. Put it another way: the companies aren't as green as the people that shop there... they are companies that target the organic and sustainably-minded consumer.

Another example is 7th Generation-- they talk the talk, but when it comes down to it they are a brand that targets people wanting cleaning supplies that are earth-friendly. You think their CEO drives a Prius or wears Nau clothing? I doubt it, but they sure make money off people like us just the same, and that is fine with them.

i think the key issue is whether you consider WF and Wild Oats as "Organic Grocery Stores" or "Grocery Stores." They are the biggest players in the Organic Grocery business, which makes their merger a monopoly issue. They are fairly minor players in the Grocery business, so their merger shouldn't be a problem if you pick the broader category.

In my view they are just grocery stores, and their competitors are bigger grocery chains. I suspect the big agribusiness sees it that way too, and would like to minimize their impact. By considering them separately the administration hopes to minimize Whole Foods' impact on the status quo of Big Food.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5605029,00.html

Just down the road from Boulder, Wild Oats home town, King Soopers wants to build their biggest store ever...to have more produce and a bigger natural foods/organic section. Really, there should be no problem with a Wild Oats and Whole Foods merger, because their big competition is the standard grocery store.Mr. Daugherty (quoted in the article link) happens to be an old family friend and I know from side comments that King Soopers considers natural food stores to be big competitors in our area. And, I am sure this is true for the rest of the country. Further proof in the pudding is that last year Wild Oats decided to carry non natural food brands, such as Progresso Soup and regular old laundry detergent, to meet consumers half-way.

I think as consumers if we really want local, organic produce and other products that we trust to thrive, we support our local farmers markets, co-ops, and smaller health food stores. In Colorado we have Vitamin Cottage Natural Grocers, which has also been growing and expanding like mad. And, we give our blessing to the merger of Whole Foods and Wild Oats, because it forces the issue on regular stores and will hopefully have a positive effect on the eating and buying habits of more Americans.

BTW if anyone knows how to do so, the article in the above link should be sent to the FTC!