Organization Background : Wholefoods Inc.

Whole Foods Market is one of the biggest organic and natural whole food suppliers in the world. They provide a wide variety of select foods that are without hormones or antibiotics and are stamped with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s stamp of approval. They value the fact that they can provide people with access to healthy food and be identified with being socially and environmentally responsible.

Whole Foods Market Inc. is a popular retail destination for natural and organic foods and byproducts, since its establishment in 1980 by four local businesspeople in Austin, Texas. It is notable for supporting sustainable agriculture, promoting the reduction of waste and consumption of nonrenewable resources and encouraging environmentally safe cleaning and store-maintenance programs. The company showcases its ethics and social responsibility through its green mission, foundations, and Whole Trade Guarantee.

Whole Foods Market, Inc. has long been admired as an innovative company with quality standards, a devotion to community and environmental responsiveness, a healthy growth model and highly-regarded employment practices. However, the company has faced recent difficulties as a result of the economic recession, increasing competition, and complications from acquisitions. To revitalize the company from historical lows in its toughest year in history, Whole Foods Market must reassess its costs, refocus its expansion strategies, and promote its brand to compete for the diminishing consumer spending dollar.

Consumers view Whole Foods Markets as being very expensive and have given the retailer the nickname “Whole Paycheck”. Whole Foods carries a wider variety of organic foods and healthier brands besides their private brands. Whole Foods is experiencing a decline in sales due to other stores; like Wal-Mart, who are stocking organic foods at much lower prices; which has decreased differentiation (Lutz, 2014). Its decentralized business model decreases efficiency in procurement, distribution, and marketing efforts.

Whole Foods is a supermarket that has successfully become the leader in the organic food segment of the grocery industry. While traditional markets have low brand loyalty and recognition, Whole Foods has focused almost entirely on its brand image, causing their strategy to be one of differentiation over cost leadership. Whole Foods is known as being far more expensive than other chains, due to this brand recognition. In their press release for the Q4 2014 results, they describe their vision and sum up what helps them develop that brand recognition. “We hold the idea of “food” to a higher standard, banning more than 75 ingredients commonly found in other stores, and we believe our unparalleled quality standards

B. Mission Statement - Barbara Farfan who writes for about.com states, “The mission statement of the Whole Foods Company and Whole Foods Markets begins with its motto, which is "Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet" The Whole Foods mission explains and defines what that motto means. This mission explanation includes..."Whole Foods - We obtain our products locally and from all over the world, often from small, uniquely dedicated food artisans. Whole People - We recruit the best

Whole Foods Market, Inc. was founded and created by four business people in Austin, TX during 1980. The founders opened Whole Foods Market because they wanted a supermarket that offered natural foods. This company was able to be successful because at the time they opened there were less than half a dozen natural food supermarkets in the United Sates. In 1984, they build stores in Houston and Dallas, they then moved to New Orleans, and eventually to the West Coast. A major part of Whole Foods growth has come from the many mergers and acquisitions with companies that have occurred throughout the years. The mergers and acquisitions gave Whole Foods’ even revenues to move to the East Coast.

Whole Foods Market, Inc. (WFM) was founded in Austin, Texas and is a supermarket chain concentrating in organic and natural foods. John Mackey, Rene Lawson Hardy, Craig Weller. The first store opened on September 20, 1980. Whole Foods Markets are located in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Since 1980, Whole Foods Market has remained committed to upholding their missions and values within their company. Whole Foods Market’s motto—“Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet—emphasizes that our vision reaches beyond food retailing” (Whole Foods Market, 2014). Whole Foods Market has committed as an organization in “helping support the health, well-being, and healing of both people—customers, Team Members, and business

1.2 Executive Summary Whole Foods Market opened its doors in 1980 in the city of Austin Texas. The idea was clear Whole Foods Market wanted to sell natural and organic products, and with only 19 people working for Whole Foods Market, they were launched into the adventure of opened a supermarket focusing only on natural products regardless of price. One of the main reasons for Whole Foods Market is to have the best supermarkets, with the widest range of organic and natural products, while the goal is to have international presence as a brand in the natural products of higher quality. In a short time the chain of Whole Foods Market has had a most important growth in the supermarket industry in terms of natural and organic products.

Whole Foods Market was founded 1980 in Austin, Texas by three businessmen who felt that the natural food industry was ready for a supermarket setup. Two separate individual companies, Safer Way Natural Foods and Clarksville Natural Grocery, formed Whole Foods Market. After 27 years of operation, the company has come a long way. Today Whole Foods Market is the leading retailer of natural and organic foods, with 194 stores/locations in the United States, Great Britain, and Canada (wholefoodsmarket.com). The company has been in the Fortune Magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work for" every year since the list was made up in 1998 (2007 ranked 5th). The cofounder and CEO, John

Whole Foods Market Inc. is an American supermarket chain specializing in organic food that opened on Sept. 20, 1980, in Austin, Texas, its current headquarters. Whole Foods Market Inc. has 431 supermarkets among the United States, Canada, District of Columbia, and the United Kingdom. Whole Foods Market has sales revenue of 15.39 billion, total assets of 5.74 billion, and a net income of 536 million in the annual report of September 2015. Whole Foods Market’s common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under ticker symbol “WFM”. Whole Foods Market’s primary products are organic and natural food products, including fresh and prepared meats, poultry and seafood, canned and frozen foods, fresh fruits and vegetables and various dairy products. Whole Foods Market Inc. is in the retail supermarket and grocery store industry, in which makes up the largest food retail channel in the United States. The Supermarkets and Grocery Stores industry faces a high amount of internal and external competition, particularly from large retailers like massive warehouse stores and supercenters. The barriers to entry in this industry are the medium range, but are increasing.

Whole Foods Market Inc. is a supermarket selling highest quality natural and organic food, was founded by John Mackey in Austin, Texas in 1980. Whole Foods Market is leading the supermarket industry worldwide, its recorded sales had reached $10,107.79 million in 2011 and it has expanded more than 430 stores in the United states in 2015 (Whole Foods Market, 2015).

Whole Foods, like many other organizations, has a motto that guides their day-to-day business. Their motto is, “Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet” (Our Mission and Vision, n.d.). This motto emphasizes that they are not just focused on food retail. Their mission goes beyond that; they are concerned for the well-being of their customers and employees, and even the planet as a whole. While whole foods does not have a separate mission statement, they do have a strong vision statement. This vision statement compensates for the lack of a mission statement because it brings them both together. They identify their deepest purpose as an organization to be “helping support the health, well-being, and healing of both people — customers, team members, and business organizations in general — and the planet” (Our Mission and Vision, n.d.). This vision statement identifies the main purpose of the company. Their main reason for existing is to provide healthy food for their employees and customers in order to help promote a healthier lifestyle. Their vision statement also emphasizes the importance of both customers and employees. By identifying their Team Members as people of importance, they are showing that they truly care about their well-being and they are not just concerned about making a profit. Their statement is also goal-oriented. It gives the company a sense of direction so that everyone knows the main goal they are to be working towards.

Whole Foods was founded in 1990 with a mission to offer good, wholesome food with an emphasis on natural and organic food. Through a series of acquisitions and expansions Whole Foods is a major grocery store representing organic products in the United States, Canada and the U.K. It is consistently ranked in the top 100 best companies to work for and the top 100 best Corporate Citizens.

Does your local grocery store have a section dedicated to natural or organic foods? I bet it does. That probably wasn't the case in 1980, when Whole Foods Market opened their first store in Austin, Texas. In the past 30 years, Whole Foods Market grocery chain has become the worldwide leader in natural and organic foods.